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BY  C.  A.  N0RCR06S 

COMMISSIONER  INDUSTRY,  AGRICULTURE 

AND  IRRIGATION 


ISSUED  BY 
SUNSET  MAGAZINE  HOMESEEKERS    BUREAU 
SAN      FRANCISCO,      CALIFORNIA 


|(p0  3S 


Al.N    DAM    ON    TilL    TRUCKLE    IRRIGATION    DITCH 


In  Which  Is  Cont 


CHAPTER  I 

tained  Much  that  Is  Decidedly  at  Variance  with  Outside  PubHc  Opinion  Concerning  the 
Agricultural  Resources  and  Possibilities  of  this  Great  Arid-land  State 

A  ST  ATE  where  no  special  attention  until  recently  has  been  paid  to  its  agricultural 
resources;  desolate  and  unpropitious  when  viewed  from  the  car  windows  of  the 
L transcontinental  trains  which  traverse  little  of  its  farming  sections;  and  for  fifty 
years  given  over  to  mining  as  its  paramount  industry,  with  stock-raising  second  and  farm- 
ing third  in  the  industrial  list;  with  a  preconceived  opinion  in  the  minds  of  the  public 
that,  generally  speaking,  it  is  as  hopeless  of  transformation  into  fields  of  husbandry  as 
are  the  tablelands  of  central  Asia,  or  the  Desert  of  Sahara — Nevada  is  somewhat  handi- 
capped in  its  appeal  to  homeseekers  in  that  conditions  are  not  what  they  are  understood 
to  be  and  that  this  great  inland  empire  has  its  own  marvelous  agricultural  destiny. 

Progress  of  Agriculture  and  Irrigation. 

But  we  have  been  making  progress  the  last  few  decades,  and  very  much  so  in  agri- 
culture and  irrigation.  In  keeping  with  this  advance,  economic  pressure  is  constantly 
crowding  the  surplus  population  of  the  country  into  every  opening  and  available  field 
of  opportunity.  Necessity — that  wise  old  mother  of  invention — has  the  comfortable 
faculty  about  the  time  we  are  apparently  up  against  a  stone  wall  to  disclose  that  the 
wall  is  not  an  obstacle  after  all,  but  is  capable  of  being  turned  to  very  excellent  advantage. 

Now,  it  happens  that  while  many  are  bewailing  that  all  the  desirable  public  lands 
have  been  appropriated  and  no  further  opportunity  is  left  the  homeseeker,  irrigation  and 
agricultural  progress — more  particularly  the  conservation  of  the  natural  sources  of  water- 
supply,  improved  methods  of  irrigation,   and  more  intensive   methods  of  farming — have 


quietly  and  without  much  ado  embraced  areas  of  the  public  domain  once  thought  value- 
less within  the  domain  of  opportunity  for  settlement.  Moreover  it  is  a  question  whether 
the  settler  on  the  portion  of  public  domain  remaining  unappropriated  has  not  opportunities 
fully  equal,  if  not  better,  than  the  Western  pioneers  of  half  a  century  ago.  The  landless 
of  to-day  overlook  the  fact  that  those  early  pioneers,  while  they  unquestionably  had  the 
choice  of  lands  easiest  of  cultivation,  were  yet  heavily  handicapped  by  distance  to  trans- 
portation lines  and  absence  of  social  and  educational  opportunities.  The  twentieth 
century  settler  need  not  go  beyond  easy  access  to  transportation  lines,  and  ordinarily  will 
find  in  the  arid  West,  more  particularly  in  Nevada,  that  he  can  procure  land  capable  of 
reclamation  and  of  producing,  under  irrigation,  bountiful  crops  within  close  proximity 
to  railroads,  schools,  churches,  social  opportunities  and  local  as  well  as  general  markets. 
But  the  handicap  of  the  first  pioneer  settlers,  which  is  here  obviated,  is  exchanged  for 
another  of  a  different  character — the  necessity  of  providing  water  for  irrigation. 

The  Four  Factors  of  Agriculture. 

There  are  three  factors  which  are  essential  to  successful  agriculture,  in  addition 
to  the  fourth  which  is  the  human  factor  of  plowing,  planting,  and  harvesting,  namely: 
climate,  with  respect  to  the  mean  and  extreme  range  of  temperature  of  the  seasons;  soil, 
with  respect  to  the  constituents  required  for  plant  life,  and  humidity,  with  respect  to  the 
moisture  necessary  to  grow  crops.  The  latter  factor  in  the  arid  region  must  be  supplied 
by  irrigation.  It  was  once  thought  that  Nature  could  not  be  improved  upon  by  any 
artificial  means  of  supplementing  a  natural  deficiency  of  humidity.  But  that  belief  has 
been  overthrown  by  the  comparative  results  of  the  fruitfulness  of  like  soils:  in  the  one 
instance  dependent  on  the  uncertainties  of  rainfall,  and  in  the  other  on  moisture 
within  the  control  of  the  agriculturist,  to  be  given  his  crops  when  needed  and  withheld 
when  not.  Farmers  who  have  had  experience  under  both  conditions  are  substantially 
unanimous  in  their  preference  of  irrigation  over  rainfall.  It  is  contended  that  not  only 
is  there  a  greater  certainty  of  harvest,  but  that,  other  conditions  being  equal,  equivalent 
lands  will  grow  larger  crops  under  skilful  irrigation  than  with  rainfall. 

We  have  stated  that  Nevada,  contrary  to  prevailing  opinion,  holds  the  promise  of  a 
great  agricultural  future.  On  what  ground  is  this  outlook  based?  The  answer  is:  On 
climate,  soil  and  irrigation;  the  conservation  of  the  surface  and  subsurface  waters 
of  the  State  to  supplement  the  deficiency  of  climatic  humidity. 

THE  CLIMATE  OF  NEVADA 

Nevada  has  a  range  of  climate  greater  than  any  other  state  or  territory,  with  the 
single  exception  of  California.  Its  northern  boundary  is  the  same  as  that  of  Pennsylvania, 
its  southern  boundary  is  on  the  same  parallel  as  the  northern  boundary  of  Mississippi, 
Alabama  and  Georgia.  It  wedges  Southern  California  from  Arizona  on  the  south;  and 
north,  it  adjoins  Oregon  and  Idaho.  Southern  Nevada  is  semi-tropical,  almost  frostless, 
and  with  a  growing  season  of  over  nine  months'  duration.  Northern  Nevada  has  a 
climate  with  moderate  winters,  temperate  summers  and  a  five-months'  normal  growing 
season  from  the  middle  of  April  to  October.  The  elevations  of  its  valleys  are  not 
extreme — from  3,000  to  5,500  feet  in  the  northern  and  central  parts  of  the  State,  and 
from  2,000  to  4,000  feet  in  southern  Nevada.  These  altitudes  are  lower  than  many 
of  the  most  fertile  valleys  of  the  other  intermontane  states. 

Separating  these  valleys,  one  from  another,  are  mountain  ranges,  some  of  great  and 
others  of  moderate  elevation,  with  a  general  north  and  south  trend.  These  have  a  modify- 
ing effect  upon  meteorological  conditions,  tending  to  cause  the  precipitation  of  moisture 
on  the  high  peaks  and  ranges  rather  than  in  the  valleys  and  to  temper  the  intense  heat 
of  summer  in  the  latter  with  cooling  winds  from  the  mountains.  The  atmosphere  is  clear, 
healthful  and  invigorating.  The  absence  of  humidity  during  the  summer  months  causes 
the  earth,  after  sunset,  to  radiate  its  heat  into  space,  with  the  result  that  even  in  southern 
Nevada  the  nights  are  comfortable.     Between  June  first  and  the  beginning  of  October,  in 


northern  and  central  Nevada  frosts  rarely  ever  occur,  and  in  southern  Nevada  frosts 
are  confined  to  the  late  fall  and  winter  months.  Contrary  to  the  belief  of  those 
unfamiliar  with  the  climate  of  the  State,  the  winters  are  as  a  rule  mild.  The  stormiest 
season  is  from  the  middle  of  January  to  the  middle  of  March.  Snow  rarely  falls  to  a 
depth  greater  than  two  feet  in  the  valleys,  and  the  normal  duration  of  snow  on  the  ground 
is  from  three  to  five  weeks.  April  and  May  are  unsettled — days  of  balmy  spring  weather 
alternating  with  cold  "snaps,"  raw  winds  and  frosts.  By  the  first  of  June,  however, 
and  frequently  earlier,  steady  summer  weather  begins  and  lasts  until  October,  with 
warm  and  hot  cloudless  days  and  cool  but  frostless  nights.  About  October  first 
occurs  the  equinoctial  storm,  lasting  about  ten  days  and  usually  accompanied  with 
the  heaviest  rain  of  the  year.  After  this,  the  remainder  of  October,  all  of  November  and 
frequently  the  greater  part  of  December  is  glorious  fall  weather,  compensating  with  its 
charms  the  disagreeable  features  of  the  spring. 

Manifestly,  on  this  showing,  which  is  confirmed  by  reference  to  meteorological 
records,  the  climate  of  Nevada  is  generally,  and  in  some  instances  extraordinarily,  favor- 
able to  agriculture. 

RICH  AND   FRUITFUL  SOIL 

Is  the  soil  of  Nevada's  valleys  inferior  or  destitute  of  the  elements  which  nurture 
plant   life? 

Nature,  to  initiate,  in  this  State  has  placed  in  her  natural  desert  flora  an  almost 
infallible  criterion  of  soil  values.  Ordinarily,  in  northern  and  central  Nevada,  the 
growth  and  thriftiness  of  the  black  sagebrush  is  determinative  of  the  character  of  the 
soil,  and  only  in  exceptional  cases  the  rule  does  not  apply. 

The  alkali  deserts  are  barren  of  vegetation  other  than  a  few  stunted  weeds  and  thorn- 
bushes.  These  deserts,  in  the  present  stage  of  agricultural  science,  at  least,  are  hopeless 
of  reclamation  and  are  only  valuable  for  their  mineral  contents  of  salt,  soda,  and  borax. 

Natural  Soil  Classifications. 

The  following  classification  of  soil  values,  based  on  the  character  of  the  desert  flora 
in  Nevada,  will  be  found  substantially  correct  in  almost  every  instance: 

Luxuriant  black  sagebrush,  from  three  to  five  feet  high,  denotes  invariably  a 
rich  soil  with  all  the  constituents  required  by  plant  life  including  nitrogen  and  humus 
in  abundance.  Such  land  in  Nevada  will  yield  bountifully  any  crop  within  the 
climatic  range. 

Medium  black  sagebrush,  from  two  to  three  feet  high,  reasonably  thrifty  in 
appearance,  indicates  invariably  good  soil  free  from  alkali,  with  sufficient  nitrogen, 
humus,  and  all  other  necessary  constituents  required  by  plant  life.  Such  land  under 
irrigation  will  produce  in  northern  and  central  Nevada  from  three  to  seven  tons  of 
alfalfa  to  the  acre,  twenty-five  to  fifty  bushels  of  wheat,  or  from  1  75  to  400  bushels  of 
potatoes,  and  relatively  all  other  crops  within  the  climatic  range. 

Medium  black  sagebrush  with  GREASEWOOD,  with  occasionally  thorn-bush  or 
shadscale  intermixed,  or  patches  of  wild  rye,  denotes  first  of  all  surface  moisture  and 
usually  a  soil  rich  in  humus  and  nitrogen.  The  presence  and  relative  thriftiness  of  the 
black  sagebrush  is  the  natural  criterion  by  which  to  judge  of  the  quantity  of  alkali  con- 
tained. If  the  black  sagebrush  thrives,  the  fear  of  excess  alkali  in  the  soil  may  be 
dismissed.  Lands  of  this  character  will  frequently  grow  wheat,  rye,  emmer,  potatoes  and 
certain  other  crops  without  irrigation,  due  to  the  soil  moisture  naturally  present,  when 
dry-farming  methods  are  followed.  There  are  thousands  of  acres  of  land  of  this  char- 
acter in  the  State  susceptible  of  cultivation  without  irrigation,  which  at  the  present  time 
are  lying  fallow.     Most  of  this  is  in  private  ownership,  chiefly  of  stockmen. 

Stunted  black  sagebrush  and  thorn-bush  are  indicative  of  a  soil  deficient 
in  nitrogen  and  humus,  but  not  essentially  of  the  other  constituents  required  for  crop-grow- 
ing. The  nitrogen  and  humus  may  be  supplied,  where  the  conditions  otherwise  are 
favorable,  and  such  land  be  made  very  productive.      Land  of  this  character  should  be 


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subjected  to  soil  analysis  as  a  determinative,  with  which  its  location  and  climatic  conditions 
will  govern  the  profitableness  of  its  reclamation. 

Shadscale  and  SALTBRUSH  are  indicative  of  alkali  more  frequently  than  other- 
wise, and  grow  in  the  lowlands  along  the  course  of  the  drainage  of  alkaline  waters  from  the 
uplands. 

The  moisture  and  heat  variant,  or  relative  aridity  of  one  section  of  the  State  with 
another,  is  to  be  given  consideration  as  modifying  to  some  extent  the  foregoing  classifica- 
tions, more  especially  with  respect  to  the  thriftiness  of  the  black  sagebrush.  The  relative 
degree  of  moisture  normally  present  in  the  soil  will  be  reflected  in  a  greater  or  less  growth 
of  black  sagebrush  on  equivalent  soils,  provided  the  moisture  is  not  excessive.  Beyond  a 
certain  limit  of  soil  moisture,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  black  sagebrush  will  not  thrive 
but  is  displaced  by  greasewood,  nor  will  black  sagebrush  grow  upon  lands  containing 
more  than  a  negligible  quantity  of  alkali. 

Area  of  Arable  Land  in  Nevada. 

Among  the  states  and  territories,  Nevada  ranks  fourth  in  area,  with  1  1 0,690 
square  miles  of  surface ;  869  of  which  is  water.  The  land  area  may  be  roughly  classified, 
from  the  agricultural  standpoint,  into  three  groups,  namely:  alkali  wastes  and  barrens; 
mountainous  and  rolling  grazing  lands,  and  arable  valley  lands.  While  no  accurate 
computation  has  yet  been  made  by  either  the  State  or  the  National  Government  of  the  lands 
in  each  group,  sufficient  data  is  obtainable  on  which  to  base  a  reasonable  approximation. 
According  to  such  calculations,  the  alkali  deserts  and  verdureless  barrens  occupy  approxi- 
mately one-sixth  of  the  total  area  of  the  State,  or  about  1 2,000,000  acres.  The  moun- 
tains, hilly  and  rolling  lands,  unsuitable  for  agriculture  but  affording  excellent  range  for 
cattle  and  sheep,  and  on  which  500,000  head  of  cattle  and  1 ,500,000  head  of  sheep  find 
subsistence,  is  estimated  at  40,000,000  acres.  The  total  area  of  arable  valley  lands  is 
estimated  at  not  less  than  18,000,000  acres.  The  immensity  of  this  latter  acreage  may 
be  conceived  when  it  is  stated  that  it  is  equivalent  in  area  to  all  of  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island  combined. 

Any  average  quarter-section  of  this  1  8,000,000  acres  of  arable  land  under  irrigation 
will  support  a  family ;  on  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  it,  eighty  acres  under  cultivation  will 
support  a  family,  and  under  intensive  farming  and  fruit-raising,  in  many  instances,  sixty, 
forty,  and  as  low  as  twenty  acres  will  support  a  family.  Including  natural  grass  meadows, 
less  than  five  per  cent.,  or  only  about  750,000  acres  of  this  arable  area,  is  today  under 
cultivation.  But  the  farms  that  are  reclaimed  are  an  indication  of  the  wonderful  possi- 
bilities of  the  soil,  latent  until  released  to  f ruitfulness  by  the  magic  of  irrigation ! 

THE  REAL  PROBLEM— WATER 

On  the  foregoing  showing,  the  problem  for  solution  in  the  reclamation  and  colonization 
of  Nevada  involves  neither  climate  nor  soil.  The  climate  is  propitious!  the  soil  of  at 
least  1 8,000,000  acres  is  all  that  could  reasonably  be  desired  by  the  husbandman !  The 
problem  instead  is  to  correct  the  deficiency  of  climatic  humidity  by  artificial  irrigation. 
Water  is  the  talisman  of  the  desert — without  which  the  desert  is,  and  with  which  the 
desert  vanishes,  transformed  into  waving  fields  of  alfalfa  and  grain,  the  verdure  of 
plant  and  fruit,  tree  and  shrubbery,  the  homes  of  farmers,  and  the  seats  of  villages,  towns 
and  cities. 

Between  the  settler  and  the  fruitfulness  of  the  land  lies  this  problem  of  water,  and  it 
is  our  purpose  here  neither  to  underestimate  nor  overestimate  the  difficulties  which  must 
be  conquered.  If  unconquerable,  there  would  be  no  necessity  for  this  booklet.  On  the 
other  hand,  nothing  will  be  gained  by  minimizing  the  obstacles  which  must  be  overcome. 
For  a  settler  who  under  a  false  statement  of  facts  might  be  induced  to  come  to  Nevada 
expecting  to  select  a  homestead  on  the  public  domain,  and  through  his  own  efforts  and  at 
small  outlay  to  develop  a  water  right  for  it,  would  not  find  such  conditions  existing 
except  in  rare  instances,   and  his  grievance  at  the  misrepresentation  would  be   genuine. 


While,  unquestionably,  there  are  many  isolated  tracts  of  land  in  Nevada  on  which  a 
settler  might  discover  and  by  his  unaided  endeavors  conserve  a  water-supply  for  its 
reclamation,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  such  instances  are  essentially  rare  and  not  every 
search  by  the  homeseeker  might  find  reward. 

Where,  then,  is  the  opportunity  for  the  settler  in  Nevada?  This  will  be  answered 
clearly  and  definitely  in  the  succeeding  pages,  after  a  discussion  of  the  water-supply  of 
the  State,  which  is  first  in  order. 

Water-Sappl}}  of  Nevada. 

In  that  third  of  the  United  States  lying  between  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers, 
on  the  east,  and  the  beginning  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west,  the  country  is  level 
or  undulating,  without  mountains  or  hills  of  any  altitude  worth  mentioning.  The  result 
is  a  comparatively  even  distribution  of  rainfall  throughout  extensive  areas.  The  topog- 
raphy of  Nevada  on  the  contrary  shows  approximately  two  hundred  valleys,  great  and 
small,  separated  from  one  another  by  mountain  ranges,  anywhere  from  2,000  to  7,000 
feet  higher  than  the  valley  levels.  The  effect  of  this  on  the  distribution  of  rainfall  is 
marked.  The  mountains  gather  the  storms,  intercept  the  precipitation,  and  while  the 
valleys  occasionally  get  rain  or  snow,  the  ratio  between  the  rainfall  of  the  latter  and  the 
mountains  is  probably  not  more  than  one  to  three.  When  it  is  stated  that  the  average 
annual  precipitation  in  the  valleys  of  northern,  eastern  and  western  Nevada  is  not  likely 
more  than  eight  inches,  in  central  Nevada  not  more  than  five  inches,  and  in  southern 
Nevada  not  more  than  four  inches,  this  should  not  be  understood  to  represent  but  a  small 
part  of  the  actual  rainfall  over  the  State.  Moreover,  there  is  often  a  wide  variation  in 
rainfall  between  one  valley  and  another  immediately  adjoining  it  but  separated  by  a 
mountain  barrier.  Several  valleys  have  an  annual  precipitation  very  much  greater  than 
the  averages  stated  above,  others  considerably  less. 

Effects  of  Mountains  on  Humidity^. 

These  mountain  ranges  are  factors  of  supreme  importance  in  the  agricultural  reclama- 
tion of  the  State.  The  winter  snow  is  conserved  in  the  higher  altitudes  to  melt  gradually 
during  the  spring  and  summer,  giving  rise  to  the  streams  and  rivers  which  supply  water 
for  irrigation.  Moreover,  the  mountain  valleys  and  canons  afford  many  opportunities  for 
storage  reservoirs.  A  dam  thrown  across  the  outlet  of  an  upland  valley  through  which 
a  stream  flows,  or  which  is  surrounded  by  a  large  catchment  basin,  impounds  the  waters. 
The  run-off  which  otherwise  would  flow  to  waste  in  the  early  spring  before  irrigation 
begins  and  in  the  fall  after  irrigation  ceases,  is  thus  conserved  and  regulated  to  flow  only 
when  required  for  crop-growing. 

Stream  measurements  of  all  the  principal  rivers  of  the  State  disclose  the  fact  that 
without  a  water-storage  system  on  a  given  stream,  about  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  total 
annual  run-off  flows  to  waste  during  the  non-irrigation  season.  As  only  a  small  fraction  of 
the  flood  waters  of  the  Nevada  streams  is  yet  conserved  by  water-storage  system,  it 
follows  that  not  more  than  a  third  of  the  actual  surface  water-supply  is  yet  utilized  for 
irrigation.  The  field  thus  left  open  for  reclamation  enterprises  is  attracting  lively  attention 
at  the  present  time,  and  will  be  discussed  more  fully  under  the  chapter  relating  to  the 
Carey  Act. 

Principal  Rivers  and  Streams. 

The  waters  of  only  five  small  rivers  in  Nevada  reach  the  ocean,  namely:  the  Virgin 
River  with  its  tributary,  the  Muddy,  in  southern  Nevada,  which  flows  into  the  Colorado 
and  thence  into  the  Gulf  of  California;  and  the  Owyhee,  Bruneau  and  Salmon  in  northern 
Nevada  which  are  tributaries  of  the  Snake  and  the  latter  in  turn  of  the  Columbia.  AH 
the  other  streams  either  flow  into  lakes  without  outlets  or  ultimately  disappear  by 
evaporation  or  by  percolation. 


The  principal  rivers  are  the  Humboldt, .  Truckee,  Carson,  Walker,  Reese,  Muddy, 
Owyhee,  Quinn,  Virgin,  Bruneau,  Salmon  and  White.  In  addition  to  these  are  a  great 
number  of  creeks  and  brooks  which  in  some  instances  are  feeders  of  the  larger  streams,  and 
in  others  are  independent  and  lose  themselves  in  the  valleys.  To  these  sources  of  water- 
supply  for  irrigation  must  be  added  springs  which  occur  in  many  parts  of  the  State 
and  from  which  considerable  bodies  of  land  are  irrigated;  also,  artesian  or  subsurface 
waters,  which  latter  have  challenged  special  interest  within  the  last  two  years  and  will  be 
discussed  separately. 

Water  Rights  and  Appropriated  Waters, 

Water,  under  the  laws  of  the  West,  is  subject  to  appropriation.  The  essence  of 
ownership,  however,  is  ''beneficial  use,"  without  which  no  right  exists.  In  the  ownership 
of  water,  the  season  during  which  it  is  put  to  beneficial  use  is  a  limitation  as  well. 
Therefore,  a  farmer  who  has  a  water  right  will  be  protected  in  its  enjoyment  during  the 
irrigation  season,  but  during  the  remainder  of  the  year  any  one  else  may  make  application 
for  all  or  a  part  of  that  which  flows  to  waste,  termed  "flood  waters,"  and  on  impounding 
and  putting  the  same  to  beneficial  use  may  acquire  ownership. 

The  natural  flow  of  nearly  all  the  streams  during  the  irrigation  season  is  already 
appropriated.  But  only  a  relatively  small  portion  of  the  flood  waters  are  appropriated. 
The  State  law  permits  the  applicant  for  the  flood  waters  of  a  stream  to  acquire  by  con- 
demnation proceedings  any  lands  in  private  ownership  required  for  storage  reservoirs, 
diverting  canals  and  ditches.  The  appraised  value  is  based  on  the  actual  use  to  which 
the  land  proposed  to  be  condemned  is  put  by  the  owner.  As  this  is  usually  grazing,  the 
acreage  value  is  not  high.  If  the  reservoir  site  be  on  the  public  domain  it  may  be  secured 
by  application  to  the  Government. 

We  have  stated  that  the  appropriated  waters  of  the  State  are  utilized  In  the  irrigation 
of  approximately  750,000  acres  of  land.  Were  the  flood  waters  of  the  streams  that  now 
flow  to  waste  during  the  non-irrigation  season  impounded  and  conserved  to  flow  only 
during  the  irrigation  season,  and  all  such  surface-waters  put  to  a  reasonably  high  irrigation 
duty  in  place  of  the  present  more  or  less  wasteful  methods,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  such  waters 
would  be  sufficient  to  reclaim  and  put  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  not  less  than 
3.000.000  acres  of  land. 

Water  Storage  Systems  Require  Capital, 

Unfortunately  for  the  homeseeker,  water-storage  enterprises  are  expensive  undertakings 
and,  as  a  rule,  have  to  be  carried  out  on  a  scale  sufficiently  large  to  reclaim  many  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  acres  of  land  in  order  to  bring  the  relative  cost  per  acre  within  reasonable 
limits.  Therefore,  preceding  the  settler  in  such  cases  must  ordinarily  come  the  "reclamation 
project,"  carried  through  at  the  expense  of  the  national  or  state  governments  or  by 
private  capital  operating  under  the  Carey  Act.  The  storage  reservoirs  and  diverting 
canals  are  constructed  to  bring  the  water  to  the  land,  when  the  land  with  the  water  right 
is  sold  to  settlers  on  instalment  payments  covering  usually  ten  years.  A  number  of  such 
enterprises  are  in  progress  in  Nevada  at  the  present  time,  the  most  notable  being  the 
Truckee-Carson  National  Reclamation  Project  in  Churchill  County.  Carey  Act  projects 
by  private  enterprise  covering  proposals  to  reclaim  something  over  one  million  acres  of 
land  are  in  various  stages  of  progress,  from  that  of  the  temporary  withdrawal  to  deter- 
mine the  feasibility  of  the  project,  through  the  stage  of  final  segregation  of  the  lands  and 
contract  with  the  State  to  construct  the  irrigation  works. 

During  the  year  1912  and  thereafter,  portions  of  the  lands  of  certain  of  these  projects 
will  be  thrown  open  to  entrymen.  Under  the  State  law  water  must  be  available  for 
delivery  to  the  entrymen  before  the  land  of  a  Carey  Act  project  may  be  sold  to  settlers. 

11 


SUBSURFACE  WATERS 

In  the  foregoing  we  have  discussed  only  surface  waters.  But  in  the  last  two  years 
increasing  attention  has  been  given  to  the  possibilities  of  reclamation  by  utilizing  subsurface 
waters.  Underground  streams  and  lakes  have  been  discovered  at  varying  depths  in  many 
valleys.  One  would  imagine  that  a  state  with  such  little  rainfall  and  where  evaporation 
is  so  great  would  be  the  last  section  of  the  country  wherein  bodies  of  underground  water 
might  be  expected.  The  contrary  appears  to  be  true.  In  about  twenty  different  valleys 
borings  have  been  made,  and  in  nearly  all  of  these  artesian  flows  have  been  encountered. 
Nor  has  the  depth  been  great,  usually  between  200  and  400  feet.  Some  wells  have 
found  flows  as  shallow  as  80  feet,  and  in  only  comparatively  few  instances  has  it  been 
necessary  to  go  deeper  than  500  feet. 

What  is  the  origin  of  this  artesian  water?  In  most  instances  it  may  be  satisfactorily 
accounted  for  as  coming  from  the  percolation  of  melting  snows  in  the  porous  strata  of 
contiguous  mountain  ranges  and  which  is  retained  under  pressure  in  the  bordering  valley 
basins  by  an  impervious  stratum  above.  But  in  many  instances  artesian  water  exists  as 
abundantly  in  the  regions  of  least  rainfall.  The  most  probable  explanation  of  the  latter 
phenomenon  is  made  clear  when  we  examine  cross-sections  of  the  surface  contour  of  the 
State.  From  the  region  of  greatest  rainfall,  including  the  extraordinary  precipitation  on 
the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierras,  there  is  a  general  southeasterly  slope  or  decrease  of 
surface  elevation  towards  the  Colorado  River.  It  is  well  established  that  water  has  a 
gravity  movement  or  flow  underground  as  well  as  on  the  surface  wherever  opportunity 
exists.  It  is  therefore  quite  probable  that  some  portions,  at  least,  of  the  underground  waters 
found  in  southern  Nevada  were  originally  precipitated  upon  mountains  and  in  valleys 
hundreds  of  miles  distant. 

The  economic  feasibility  of  developing  subsurface  water  for  irrigation  depends  upon 
three  factors,  namely:  the  cost  of  the  well,  the  quantity  of  its  flow,  and  the  value  of  the 
land  for  agricultural  purpose  when  reclaimed. 

The  last  factor  is  the  only  one  of  the  three  which  can  be  closely  estimated  in  advance. 
The  character  of  the  soil,  climatic  conditions  and  proximity  to  market  and  transportation 
lines  will  enable  a  very  accurate  estimate  to  be  made  of  the  value  of  the  land  proposed  to 
be  reclaimed  when  under  cultivation.  Suppose  the  land  be  covered  with  a  thrifty  growth 
of  black  sagebrush,  indicative  of  good  soil,  in  northern  and  central  Nevada  such  land 
will  bring  in  a  gross  average  income  from  $25  to  $40  per  acre,  if  in  alfalfa;  $20  to  $50 
per  acre  if  in  wheat;  $75  to  $300  per  acre  if  in  potatoes,  and  proportionally  in  all  other 
crops.  In  the  nine-months-long  season  of  southern  Nevada,  where  from  eight  to  twelve  tons 
of  alfalfa  per  acre  are  grown,  and  fruits,  cantaloupes,  and  other  intensive  farm-crops 
grow  luxuriantly  as  well,  the  income  of  good  land  with  water  sufficient  for  its  irrigation 
will  range  anywhere  from  $50  to  $400  per  acre. 

Quantity)  of  Water  Required  for  Irrigation. 

The  quantity  of  water  required  per  acre  in  all  instances  will  vary  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil :  whether  porous  and  gravelly,  or  loamy  and  compact,  and  the  proximity 
to  subsurface  moisture.  On  ordinary  soils  and  under  average  climatic  conditions,  it  has 
been  determined  that  one-half  an  acre  foot  of  water  for  each  month  of  the  irrigation 
season  is  usually  sufficient.  But  it  is  to  be  understood  that  soils  and  climatic  conditions 
vary,  and  while  a  less  quantity  might  be  ample  on  naturally  moist  and  loamy  soils,  certain 
deep  gravelly  soils  will  require  considerably  more.  Also,  that  there  is  a  variation  in  the 
quantity  of  water  required  by  difl^erent  plants.  The  half-acre  foot  per  month  during 
the  irrigation  season,  however,  is  a  safe  rule  in  the  majority  of  instances.  This  is  equiva- 
lent to  a  constant  flow  of  3.75  gallons  per  minute. 

U 


4 


.j^ 


Artesian  Wells. 

The  most  practical  artesian  well  is  one  having  a  casing  diameter  of  10,  12  or  M 
inches.  The  cost  of  a  10-inch  artesian  well  from  350  to  400  feet  deep  will  be  ordi- 
narily somewhere  between  $1,000  and  $1,250.  Taking  the  higher  figure  as  the  cost  of 
the  well,  a  flow  of  375  gallons  per  minute  would  be  sufficient  to  irrigate  100  acres  of  land 
on  the  basis  of  one-half  acre  foot  per  month  per  acre.  The  cost  of  the  water  right  would 
be,  therefore,  $12.50  per  acre.  On  the  other  hand,  a  flow  of  but  125  gallons  per  minute 
would  afford  sufficient  water  for  but  33  acres,  making  the  cost  of  the  water  right  $37.50 
per  acre.  Shallow  wells  are  proportionally  less  expensive,  and  many  of  the  best  wells 
so  far  drilled  in  the  State  are  not  over  250  feet.  The  flows  of  10-inch  wells  range  from 
as  low  as  50  gallons  per  minute  to  as  high  as  1,350  gallons  per  minute,  in  the  case  of  the 
Passno  well  at  Las  Vegas. 

With  the  factors  of  depth  and  flow  indeterminable,  except  by  actual  drilling,  and 
varying  not  only  in  each  locality  but  with  each  well,  it  is  obviously  impossible  to  give 
other  than  a  qualified  estimate  of  the  probable  average  cost  of  artesian  water  rights  per 
acre  of  land.  This  is  likely  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  $20.  But  such  estimate 
is  not  submitted  other  than  as  an  approximation.  The  chief  point  to  be  considered  is 
that  artesian  well  drilling  to  reclaim  arid  lands  is  receiving  such  increasing  impetus  since 
its  inception  into  Nevada  as  to  preclude  any  thought  that  the  average  results  are  other  than 
economically  profitable.  Where  two  years  ago  there  was  little  or  no  drilling  being  done, 
at  the  present  time  there  are  perhaps  twenty  or  more  drilling  outfits  in  active  commission  in 
different  parts  of  the  State. 

Cheap  PorveT  for  Pumping. 

That  cheap  power  is  available  in  western  and  parts  of  southern  Nevada  will  surprise 
many.  Such,  nevertheless,  is  the  fact.  The  tremendous  development  of  mining  and  its 
demand  for  power  has  stimulated  the  construction  of  hydro-electric  power  plants  on  the 
streams  flowing  from  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierras,  particularly  on  the  Truckee  and 
Owens  rivers.  About  20,000  horse-power  is  at  present  generated  and  conveyed  by  pole 
and  wire  lines  for  hundreds  of  miles  in  western  and  southern  Nevada,  supplying  light  and 
power  for  cities,  towns  and  villages,  mines,  mills  and  manufactories,  and  traversing  in 
their  courses  mountains  and  valleys,  farming  sections  and  arable  wastes.  These  power 
lines  have  excess  power  in  the  spring  and  summer  during  19  hours  of  the  day,  or  other 
than  between  6  and  1  1  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  time  of  the  "peak  load."  Rates  for 
power  pumping  for  irrigation  for  19  hours  a  day  can  be  obtained  at  from  1.2  cents  to  1.5 
cents  per  kilowatt  hour.     This  is  equivalent  to  gasoline  power  at  about  8  cents  per  gallon. 

Cost  of  Electric  Power  Pumping. 

On  the  basis  of  50  per  cent,  efficiency  for  the  pumping  plant,  the  power  cost  of 
pumping  one  acre  foot  of  water  1 0  feet  elevation,  with  electric  power  at  1.5  cents  per 
kilowatt  hour,  will  be  31  cents;  20  feet  elevation,  62  cents;  30  feet  elevation,  93  cents;  40 
feet  elevation,  $1.24,  and  50  feet  elevation,  $1.55.  On  the  basis  of  three  acre  feet  of 
water  required  to  irrigate  the  land,  the  power  charge  per  acre  would  be  at  10  feet  pumping 
elevation,  93  cents  per  season;  at  20  feet  pumping  elevation,  $1.86;  at  30  feet,  $2.79;  at 
40  feet,  $3.72,  and  at  50  feet,  $4.65.  These  figures  do  not  include  allowance  for 
deterioration,  replacements  and  maintenance.  With  electric  power  the  cost  of  maintenance 
is  largely  negligible,  since  the  plant  requires  but  little  attention.  The  annual  charge  for 
deterioration  and  replacements  may  be  estimated  ordinarily  at  about  15  per  cent,  of  the 
cost  of  the  pumping  plant. 

A  New  Field  for  Reclamation. 

It  will  be  at  once  apparent  that  where  water  in  sufficient  quantity  may  be  obtained 
at  a  pumping  elevation  not  greater  than  50  feet  with  electric  power  at  such  rates,  pumping 
water  for  irrigation  is  economically  feasible  even  for  the  growing  of  ordinary  farm  staples 

16 


such  as  alfalfa  and  grain.  Where  more  valuable  crops  are  grown,  such  as  potatoes, 
fruits  and  market  vegetables,  the  pumping  lift  may  be  100  feet  or  more  and  still  be 
within  economical  limits.  The  field  that  is  thus  opened  is  one  to  which  very  little  attention 
has  yet  been  given.  Nevertheless,  it  is  bound  to  challenge  marked  attention  in  the 
immediate  future.  Not  only  is  the  electrically-driven  pump,  in  time,  coming  into  its  own 
in  this  State  as  a  means  of  stimulating  the  flows  of  artesian  or  driven  wells,  but  in  many 
places  water  in  abundance  may  be  found  in  gravel  strata  20  to  30  feet  below  the  surface, 
and  here  the  farmer  may  dig  his  well  at  odd  times  without  appreciable  expense  and 
install  a  pumping  plant  at  not  excessive  cost.  Also,  there  are  many  places  where  it  will 
be  found  cheaper  to  pump  the  water  from  a  stream  having  little  grade  or  fall  to  the 
land  on  its  bank,  than  to  secure  rights  of  way  and  construct  a  ditch  several  miles  in 
length  to  bring  it  upon  the  land  by  gravity  flow. 

An  artesian  well  with  an  insufficient  flow  may  be  equipped  with  a  pumping  plant 
and  a  very  large  flow  obtained.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  pressure  of  a  column  of 
water  50  feet  high  is  21.68  lbs.  per  square  inch;  hence  a  pump  in  an  artesian  well, 
taking  the  lift  50  feet  below  the  surface,  may  increase  the  flow  surprisingly.  More  often 
than  otherwise  it  will  be  found  far  more  economical  if  electric  power  is  available  to  equip 
a  well  with  a  pumping  plant  than  to  sink  additional  wells  to  secure  the  required  amount 
of  water.  In  recent  years  a  great  advance  has  been  made  in  deep-well  and  centrifugal 
pumps  suitable  for  irrigation  pumping.  One  style  of  pump  may  be  adapted  to  one  set  of 
conditions  and  unsuited  to  another,  and  it  is  very  desirable  that  those  contemplating  the 
installation  of  a  pumping  plant  get  the  best  disinterested  engineering  advice.  The  Nevada 
farmer  who  is  in  doubt  as  to  what  style  of  pumping  plant  he  may  require  should  take 
up  the  matter  with  the  State  Engineer. 

TRANSPORTATION 

The  practical  homeseeker  who  has  read  the  foregoing,  with  his  interest  and  attention 
awakened,  will  at  once  put  the  question:  "What  are  your  market  conditions?  If  I  raise 
crops  in  Nevada,  can  I  sell  them?  What  are  the  transportation  facilities  to  ship  in  what 
I  require  and  to  get  to  market  what  I  produce?'* 

Replying  to  the  latter  question  first:  Three  transcontinental  railroad  lines  cross  the 
State  from  east  to  west,  the  Southern  Pacific,  the  Westefrn  Pacific  (only  recently  com- 
pleted), and  the  San  Pedro,  Los  Angeles  &  Salt  Lake  Railroad.  The  first  two  traverse 
northern  and  central  Nevada  and  the  last  mentioned,  southern  Nevada.  In  addition  to 
these  main  lines,  there  are  branches  and  feeders  traversing  the  agricultural  valleys  and 
extending  to  the  leading  mining  camps,  aggregating  a  total  length  of  over  1 ,000  miles. 

Until  within  about  a  year,  freight  rates  were  excessively  high.  Since  the  rulings,  how- 
ever, of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  in  1910  and  1911  on  class  and  commodity 
rates  affecting  Nevada,  transportation  charges  are  as  reasonable  as  elsewhere.  The  effect 
of  these  traffic  decisions  is  already  felt  in  stimulating  the  industrial  growth  of  the  principal 
towns  on  the  transcontinental  lines.  This  is  more  particularly  true  of  Reno,  the  metropolis 
of  the  State,  which,  by  reason  of  its  location  as  a  distributing  point,  is  succeeding  to  the 
wholesaling  business  for  northern,  central  and  western  Nevada,  hitherto  monopolized  by 
the  Coast  terminals. 

Railroad  transportation  at  reasonable  rates  therefor  may  be  found  conveniently 
accessible  to  nearly  all  the  valleys,  the  exceptions  being  those  in  the  extreme  northern 
and  south-central  parts.  Projected  railroad  lines  are  surveyed  to  traverse  much  of  this 
territory. 

THE  MARKET  FOR  FARM  CROPS 

The  market  conditions  in  Nevada  for  home-grown  agricultural  products  are  unsur- 
passed in  America.  This  is  a  large  statement  to  make,  but  is  borne  out  by  an  investigation 
of  the  facts. 

We  must  remember  that,  relatively,  only  about  the  one-hundredth  part  of  the  entire 
area  of  the  State  is  under  cultivation,  and  that  the  greater  portion  of  the  population  is  not 

17 


f 


TYPE    OF   THE    INDIANS    OF    NEVADA 


engaged  in  agriculture  but  in  mining  and  stock-raising.  Finally,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  Nevada  is  one  of  the  foremost  states  in  raising  cattle  and  sheep,  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  head  of  which  are  shipped  annually  to  the  San  Francisco,  Chicago,  Omaha,  Kansas 
City  and  St.  Louis  stockyards.  Almost  all  the  cattle  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
sheep  are  fattened  before  shipment  in  Nevada,  consuming  approximately  500,000  tons 
annually  of  alfalfa  and  other  forage  grasses  fed  from  the  stack.  Hay  for  stock  feeding 
sells  uniformly  at  from  $6  to  $7  per  ton  on  the  farm.  The  finer  grades  of  alfalfa  inter- 
mixed with  timothy  and  bluegrass  are  baled  and  sold  in  the  towns  and  mining  camps  at 
from  $12  to  $20  per  ton.  Hay  and  forage  crops,  to  date,  constitute  the  chief  agricultural 
staple,  due  to  the  pre-eminence  of  the  stock-raising  industry.  Very  little  hay  is  exported, 
however,  on  account  of  the  local  demand,  and  this  is  also  true  of  the  cereals.  The  flour 
mills  at  Reno,  Lovelock,  Minden,  Nordyke,  Paradise  and  Sheridan  not  only  purchase  all 
the  local  wheat,  barley  and  oats  obtainable,  but  are  large  importers  of  these  cereals  from 
California  and  Utah.  While  the  price  of  hay  is  fixed  by  the  local  demand,  that  of  the 
cereals  mentioned  is  governed  by  outside  quotations. 

Potatoes  is  the  principal  export  crop;  with  hay,  it  is  the  only  agricultural  staple 
which  the  State  produces  in  quantity  sufficient  for  its  own  consumption.  Nevada  potatoes 
are  said  to  be  the  finest  grown  in  America,  and  all  in  excess  of  the  local  demand  commands 
a  ready  premium  in  the  California  markets.  The  price  varies  through  a  considerable  range, 
but  for  the  past  five  years  has  been  as  often  above  as  below  sixty  cents  per  bushel,  or  $20 
per  ton.  The  average  yield  is  about  six  tons  of  marketable  potatoes  per  acre.  Yields  as 
high  as  ten  and  fifteen  tons  to  the  acre  are  not  uncommon  where  soil  conditions  are 
specially  favorable  and  the  grower  is  expert. 

The  market  for  all  other  vegetables,  fruits,  berries,  butter,  cheese,  eggs,  poultry  and 
pork  required  to  supply  the  local  consumption  of  the  towns  and  mining  camps,  is  far  in 
excess  of  local  production,  and  enormous  quantities  are  annually  imported. 

The  Nevada  farmer  has  no  unsold  crop  on  his  hands  at  the  beginning  of  the  succeeding 
season.  Moreover,  he  is  not  restricted  to  one  or  two  possible  crops  for  planting,  but  may 
choose  from  a  considerable  range  for  rotation  in  order  to  get  the  best  results  from  his  land 
and  maintain  its  fertility  for  the  longest  period. 

In  Conclusion, 

One  other  important  fact  needs  to  be  presented  in  concluding  this  chapter  on  the 
agricultural  outlook  in  Nevada.  The  early  agriculturists  of  this  State  were  primarily 
stockmen  and  farmers  who  raised  forage  crops  exclusively.  The  stockman,  unless  he 
happened  to  have  acquired  a  tract  of  natural  meadow,  gave  little  or  no  attention  to  land 
reclamation,  preferring  to  buy  hay  of  the  farmer  to  tide  his  cattle  or  sheep  over  a  hard 
winter  or  to  fatten  them  for  market,  rather  than  to  bother  with  growing  it  himself.  This 
condition  largely  obtains  still,  and  its  effect  has  been  to  direct  the  agricultural  development 
of  the  State  almost  exclusively  until  recently  to  the  growing  of  hay  and  forage  crops. 
The  average  Nevada  farmer  raises  alfalfa  in  preference  to  anything  else,  and  is  not 
tempted  by  greater  profits  to  grow  any  other  crop.  Alfalfa  is  sure  money  and  requires 
but  little  attention.  Once  well  seeded  and  properly  irrigated,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to 
plow  and  replant  it  oftener  than  once  in  ten  to  fifteen  years.  Nor  have  the  farmers  of 
the  State  who  grow  such  quantities  of  alfalfa  given  as  yet  any  particular  attention  to 
raising  hogs.  While  beef  and  mutton  are  exported  in  enormous  quantities,  not  enough 
pork  is  raised  to  supply  the  home  demand.  Yet  alfalfa  is  one  of  the  best  of  hog  foods, 
and  the  great  profit  to  farmers  has  been  demonstrated  of  turning  a  crop  such  as  alfalfa 
into  pork. 

The  very  condition  of  the  agricultural  industry  in  this  State,  devoted  so  exclusively  to 
forage  crops,  spells  opportunity  for  the  small  and  intensively  cultivated  farm. 

19 


APPLES    FROM    PARADISE    VALLEY,    NEVADA 


CHAPTER  II 

Social  Life  in  Nevada — The  Landscape  not  Without  Compensating  Charm — Public  Schools — State 
Institutions — Political  Government — The   People 

In  the  preceding  chapter  is  presented  a  general  survey  of  the  agricultural  outlook  in 
Nevada.  Let  us  now  briefly  consider  the  physical,  social  and  political  characteristics  of 
the  State  as  a  place  of  residence. 

As  before  stated,  the  car  windows  of  the  overland  trains  as  the  vantage  point  of 
observation  give  anything  but  a  true  impression  of  Nevada.  None  of  these  three 
railroads  passes  within  observation  distance  of  other  than  a  few  isolated  tracks  of 
cultivated  land,  and  these — seemingly  transplanted  oases,  foreign  to  their  environment — 
serve  only  to  accentuate  in  the  mind  of  the  traveler  the  sense  of  overwhelming  immensity 
and  desolation.  He  sees  nothing  that  is  agricultural  in  the  sense  to  which  he  is  accus- 
tomed, and  gathers  his  impressions  of  the  social  life  of  the  people  from  the  unprepossessing 
visible  portions  of  the  stations  and  towns  along  the  way.  What  the  traveler  thus  carries 
away  with  him  lacks  very  much  of  being  an  adequate  or  true  picture  of  Nevada,  agri- 
culturally, socially  or  otherwise. 

Within  a  little  distance  of  the  railroad  at  Lovelock,  for  example,  is  one  of  the  most 
productive  farm  sections  in  America,  yet  the  traveler  in  the  Pullman  car  does  not  observe 
it.  Only  the  natural  grass  lowlands  of  the  Truckee  Valley,  at  Reno,  may  be  seen  from 
the  overland  train,  the  remainder  of  this  highly  cultivated  valley,  as  well  as  the  chain 
of  rich  farm  valleys  leading  south  for  a  hundred  miles,  are  only  visible  from  branch 
lines.  And  this  is  characteristic  of  the  State.  To  see  agricultural  Nevada  one  must  go 
where  the  cultivated  sections  are. 

The  Charm  of  the  Nevada  Landscape. 

One  who  has  lived  for  any  length  of  time  in  sight  of  the  ocean  or  of  lofty  moun- 
tains will  ever  afterwards  find  something  wanting  in  a  landscape  without  the  one  or  the 
other.  It  is  the  lure  of  their  immensity  and  grandeur  which  he  misses,  and  the  alternating 
moods  which  the  face  of  Nature  presents  with  every  hour  of  the  day  and  night.  The 
morning  breaks  with  a  glory  unknown  to  the  level  plains;  the  sun  in  setting  paints  the 
most  wonderful  of  oriflammes  in  the  sky.  Peaks,  crags  and  mountain  crests  an  ever-chang- 
mg  panorama,  a  perpetually  unfolding  mystery!  And  men  and  women  grow  quickly  to 
love  the  influence  of  these  far  stretches  of  desert,  bounded  by  the  hills,  wherein  is  the 
charm  of  absolute  freedom  and  the  spell  of  eternal  peace. 

The  traveler  who  has  gained  his  impressions  of  Nevada  from  a  Pullman  car,  and 
who  has,  moreover,  never  lived  close  enough  to  Nature  to  experience  what  is  here  stated, 
marvels  that  any  one  would  choose  Nevada  as  a  place  of  abode.  Yet  thousands  of  very 
highly  cultivated  men  and  women  reside  from  choice  in  this  State.  Indeed,  the  ratio  of 
educated  and  refined  people  is  fully  equal  to  that  of  other  states.  Nevada  possesses, 
proportionally  to  population,  an  exceptionally  large  number  of  resident  graduates  of 
American  and  European  colleges  and  universities.  This  is  attributable  to  the  very  con- 
ditions under  which  the  State  has  been  forced  to  make  its  progresg.  Mining  and  reclama- 
tion enterprises  have  each  demanded  the  highest  technical  skill  and  training.  Mining 
camps,  also,  have  been  a  sort  of  magnet  to  attract  not  only  the  graduates  of  law  and 
medical  schools  as  favorable  openings  for  getting  a  professional  start,  but  have  likewise 
lured  young  college  men  of  varied  attainments  who  sought  fortune  where  opportunity 
seemed  greatest.  It  is  also  characteristic  of  the  Western  pioneer  that  as  he  prospered  he 
determined  to  give  his  sons  and  daughters  the  best  education  possible.  Thus  an  unusually 
high  percentage  of  the  present  generation  of  native  Nevadans  are  college  men  and  women. 

Public  School  System. 

The  founders  of  the  State  in  adopting  a  constitution  provided  that  all  moneys  derived 
from  the  sale  of  public  lands  granted  the  State  by  the  National  Government  should  be 

21 


invested  in  United  States  bonds  or  the  bonds  of  this  and  other  states,  and  that  the  interest 
thereon  should  be  forever  dedicated  to  the  support  of  the  pubHc  schools.  Including  the  bal- 
ance due  on  contract  lands,  the  State  school  fund  aggregates,  in  round  numbers,  $3,500,- 
000,  on  which  the  annual  interest  is  approximately  $  1  60,000.  In  addition  to  this  sum 
about  one-fifth  of  the  revenue  derived  from  State  taxation  is  applied  to  educational  purposes. 
Each  district  is  separately  taxed  for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  its  school  buildings. 
The  result  is  an  efficient  educational  system  comparing  favorably  with  that  of  any  other 
State.  There  are  country  schools  wherever  five  pupils  reside  within  a  district;  graded 
schools  in  the  towns;  one  high  school  at  least  in  every  county,  culminating  with 
the  State  University,  State  Normal  School  and  Agricultural  College  at  Reno.  Many  of 
the  recently-erected  public  school  buildings  are  models  of  their  kind.  No  people  have 
evidenced  greater  sincerity  and  generosity  in  supporting  and  improving  the  efficiency  of 
their  public  school  system  than  the  citizens  of  this  arid-land  commonwealth. 

Roads  and  Highways. 

The  roads  and  highways  of  the  State  are  kept  up  by  the  counties,  and  while  varying 
from  poor  to  excellent,  have  a  good  general  average.  The  dry  climate  is  advantageous 
to  good  roads,  and  it  may  be  stated  as  practically  true  that  all  roads  in  Nevada  are  more 
or  less  satisfactory,  except  where  there  are  occasional  stretches  of  sand,  and  excluding 
some  little-traveled  mountain  roads.  A  "good-roads'*  movement  is  on  in  the  State,  and 
many  counties  are  spending  considerable  sums  in  road  improvement.  The  State  itself  is 
engaged  in  constructing  a  fine  highway  from  the  California  to  the  Utah  lines,  with  convict 
labor.     The  system  is  voluntary  instead  of  compulsory  and  is  giving  good  results. 

Political  Sy^stem, 

The  State  and  counties  are  governed  by  a  thoroughly  organized  political  system, 
preserving  law,  order  and  good  government.  One  is  ordinarily  as  safe  in  Nevada  as  he 
would  be  anywhere  else.  Election  laws  are  stringently  enforced  protecting  the  purity 
of  the  ballot.  Hie  police  system  is  effective  and  the  State's  judiciary  is  of  a  high  order 
of  ability  and  probity. 

The  People  of  Nevada, 

The  tourist  who  seeks  for  types  such  as  **Alkali  Ike"  in  present-day  Nevada,  may 
find  such  in  remote  places,  as  well  as  other  opportunities  for  frontier  diversion.  It  is  a 
big  State,  with  a  population  that  is  essentially  cosmopolitan,  and  human  nature  is  here 
found  in  all  its  characteristics  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  But  social  lines  are  drawn 
as  clearly  in  Nevada  as  elsewhere.  One  may  find  about  any  kind  of  society  he  seeks, 
and  the  choice  is  not  forced  upon  him.  He  will  find  the  substantial  majority  of  the 
people  wholesome,  temperate,  hospitable,  generous  and  self-reliant.  A  people,  in  the 
main,  accustomed  to  the  comforts  and  many  of  the  luxuries,  who  travel  much  and  are 
well  informed.  Their  home  and  social  life  is  as  refined  and  the  conventions  of  good 
breeding  observed  as  habitually  as  anywhere  else. 

CHAPTER  III 

Opportunities  in  Nevada  Requiring  Capital — Carey  Act  Reclamation  Projects — Subdividing  and 
Colonizing  of  Large  Ranches — Industrial  Openings 

The  National  Government  granted  the  State  of  Nevada,  under  what  is  known  as  the 
Carey  Act,  for  its  selection  from  any  part  of  the  public  domain  within  the  State  two 
million  acres  of  land.  The  lands  subject  to  selection  must  be  "desert  in  character.** 
That  is  to  say,  they  cannot  be  forest  or  mineral  lands  but  must  essentially  be  reclaimable 
arable  lands. 

Excluding  the  railroad  land  grants,  forest  reserves  and  all  other  lands  held  in  private 

22 


ownership,  the  remaining  area  of  the  unappropriated  public  domain  aggregates,  in  round 
numbers,  56,000,000  acres.  Of  this  area,  at  least  12,000,000  acres*  are  capable 
under  irrigation  of  producing  crops.  From  this  latter  area  the  two  million  acres  may 
be  chosen.  The  least  number  of  acres  which  may  be  selected  in  the  State  under  the  act 
is  1,280,  or  two  sections,  and  the  maximum  is  the  largest  tract  which  may  be  reclaimed 
under  any  feasible  proposed  irrigation  system. 

Outline  of  the  Carey  Act 

The  Carey  Act  in  its  essence  is  intended  to  provide  a  means  whereby  private 
capital  may  profitably  undertake  enterprises  for  the  reclamation  of  the  arable  lands  of 
the  public  domain,  of  a  lesser  magnitude  than  the  great  undertakings  of  the  Government. 
Under  the  Desert  Land  and  the  Enlarged  Homestead  acts,  the  settler  can  enter  upon 
and  reclaim  from  1  60  to  320  acres  and  acquire  patent.  The  Carey  Act  fills  the  gap 
between  what  the  individual  settler  is  able  to  do  by  his  own  efforts  in  reclaiming  a  single 
homestead  or  desert-land  entry  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  great  undertakings  of  the 
Government  on  the  other.  What  is  beyond  the  ability  and  means  of  the  settler  to  do 
for  himself,  and  yet  is  too  small  for  the  Government  to  undertake  under  the  Carey  Act 
is  left  as  a  field  of  opportunity  for  private  enterprise.  The  reclamation  company  does 
not  acquire  title  to  the  land,  but  derives  its  profits  from  the  sale  of  water  rights  to 
entrymen,  quite  similarly  to  the  method  adopted  by  the  Government  in  its  reclamation 
enterprises. 

Horx>  the  Carey  Act  Applies. 

Owing  to  the  general  misinformation  about  the  Carey  Act,  In  order  to  explain  Its 
practical  workings  we  will  carry  its  operations  through  an  hypothetical  case.t 

The  applicant  knows  of  a  tract  of  arable  public  land  which,  in  his  opinion,  may  be 
reclaimed  by  impounding  and  diverting  the  flood  waters  of  a  certain  stream.  He  ascer- 
tains that  such  flood  waters  are  unappropriated  and  makes  application  therefor  in  the 
office  of  the  State  Engineer.  At  any  subsequent  time  he  may  apply  to  the  State  Com- 
mission of  Industry,  Agriculture  and  Irrigation,  which  is  charged  with  the  administration 
of  the  Carey  Act  in  Nevada,  for  the  temporary  withdrawal  of  the  lands  proposed  to  be 
reclaimed.  He  pays  a  fee  of  one  cent  per  acre  to  the  State  and  deposits  a  sum  suf- 
ficient to  defray  the  actual  expenses  of  the  State  Engineer  in  making  a  preliminary 
examination  of  the  proposed  tract  to  determine,  roughly,  its  feasibility.  If  the  State  Engi- 
neer reports  favorably,  the  Commission  will  at  once  make  application  in  the  United  States 
Land  Office  for  the  temporary  withdrawal  of  the  lands  from  entry  and  sale  under  any 
of  the  public  land  laws.  The  applicant  has  now  one  year  to  make  all  necessary  surveys 
and  determinations,  and  for  the  preparation  of  all  the  engineering  data  covering  the 
proposed  project.  If  after  such  is  completed  he  is  satisfied  to  proceed  with  the  undertaking, 
within  the  year  must  file  with  the  State  Commission  triplicate  copies  thereof  and,  on 
approval,  two  copies  will  be  filed  with  the  United  States  Land  Office,  accompanied  with 
an  application  on  the  part  of  the  State  for  the  complete  segregation  of  the  land  to  Nevada 
as  a  part  of  the  two-million-acre  grant.  The  filing  fee  in  the  United  States  Land  Office, 
$2  for  each  quarter-section,  must  be  paid  by  the  applicant.  If  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  approves  the  application,  the  segregation  Is  made. 

Within  three  months  from  the  date  of  such  approval  the  applicant  or  his  assigns 
must  enter  Into  a  contract  with  the  State  for  the  construction  of  the  reclamation  works,  and 
also  file  a  bond  In  a  sum  equal  to  five  per  cent,  of  the  estimated  cost  thereof,  conditioned 
on  the  carrying  out  In  good  faith  of  the  terms  of  the  contract.  The  contract  will  state 
the  price  at  which  the  contractor  agrees  to  sell  water  rights  to  entrymen  upon  the  lands; 
the  terms  and  conditions  of  payment  therefor  by  the  settler  (usually  In  ten  equal  annual 

•Part  of  the  18,000.000  acres  of  arable  lands  in  the  State  hitherto  mentioned. 

tBulletin    No.    2,    Nevada    Bureau    of   Industry,   Agriculture   and    Irrigation,    Carson   City,    Nev.,    gives   a 
complete  analysis  of  the  Carey  Act.    Sent  free  on  receipt  of  four  cents  postage. 

23 


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payments,  with  interest  on  the  deferred  instalments  at  six  per  cent,  per  annum)  ;  the  price 
at  which  the  State  agrees  to  sell  the  land  to  the  entrymen  (usually  $1  per  acre,  payable 
in  four  annual  instalments  without  interest)  ;  the  quantity  of  water  per  acre  required  for 
delivery  during  the  irrigation  season  to  constitute  a  water  right,  and  all  other  details  with 
respect  to  the  conduct  and  carrying  out  of  the  undertaking.  Within  three  months  from 
the  date  of  the  execution  of  the  contract,  construction  work  must  be  commenced,  and 
prosecuted  with  reasonable  diligence  thereafter.  One-tenth  of  the  total  construction  work 
must  be  completed  the  first  year  and  the  whole  project  completed  within  three  years, 
unless  an  extension  of  time  is  granted  for  reasonable  cause. 

When  the  work  has  so  far  progressed  that  the  contractor  is  able  to  deliver  water 
upon  a  part  of  the  project,  it  may  be  thrown  open  for  sale  to  entrymen  in  units.  When 
the  project  is  completed,  any  lands  within  the  segregation  which  are  found  not  economi- 
cally feasible  to  reclaim  may  be  relinquished.  Each  water  right  is  a  definite  interest  in 
the  irrigation  system,  and  when  all  the  lands  are  sold  and  the  settlers  have  completed 
their  final  instalments,  they  own  not  only  the  land  but  the  entire  irrigation  system  as  well, 
and  the  contractor  is  eliminated. 

Large  Profits  in  Carey  Act  Enterprises. 

Carey  Act  projects,  properly  conducted,  are  very  profitable,  and  where  the  engineer- 
ing work  is  competent,  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  not  possess  the  maximum 
certainty  of  success.  The  water-supply  is  subject  to  accurate  measurement  beforehand. 
The  cost  of  the  impounding  dams,  reservoirs,  canals,  ditches  and  laterals  can  be  likewise 
estimated  with  substantial  certainty.  And,  lastly,  the  value  of  the  lands  when  reclaimed 
can  be  determined  by  soil  analysis,  in  conjunction  with  the  climatic  conditions.  The 
States  charges  but  $1  per  acre  for  the  land  and  allows  the  contractor  to  charge  as  much 
for  the  water  right  as  the  soil's  fruitfulness  when  reclaimed  will  justify,  and  yet  leave 
the  settler  "abundantly  satisfied  with  his  acquirement  of  the  land  and  water  right."  The 
price  for  the  water  right  will  range  from  $25  to  $75  per  acre  in  northern  Nevada,  and 
to  $  1 00  per  acre  in  southern  Nevada.  Such  price  is  gauged  almost  entirely  by  the  land 
values,  irrespective  of  the  cost  of  the  reclamation  works  per  acre;  and  the  project  is  not 
"feasible"  if  the  margin  of  profit  to  the  contractor  between  cost  and  selling  price  of  the 
water  right  is  not  sufficiently  large.  As  a  general  rule,  the  difference  between  the  esti- 
mated cost  of  the  water  right  and  the  authorized  selling  price  to  entrymen  is  not  less  than 
1 00  per  cent,  and  frequently  very  much  larger.  While  the  contractor  never  owns  any 
of  the  land  which  the  irrigation  system  reclaims,  he  is  protected  as  thoroughly  as  though 
he  did.  For  from  the  date  of  the  execution  of  the  contract  with  the  State,  a  statutory 
lien  attaches  against  the  land  for  the  selling  price  of  the  water  right,  and  this  lien  is 
superior  to  any  mortgage  or  other  obligation  which  the  entryman  can  put  upon  it,  and  is 
only  lifted  on  the  final  payment  for  the  water  right. 

Only  within  the  past  two  years  has  Nevada  given  any  attention  to  the  Carey  Act. 
TTie  Legislature  of  1911  passed  a  comprehensive  measure  covering  the  administration  of 
Carey  Act  lands,  generally  considered  now  to  be  the  model  law  of  the  kind  among  the 
arid  land  states.  Its  tendency  is  to  eliminate  fraud  by  close  State  supervision,  and  to 
be  of  practical  aid  to  legitimate  enterprise  devoted  to  the  reclamation  of  the  State's  arid 
wastes. 

Artesian  Care})  Act  Projects. 

The  discovery  of  artesian  water  in  many  of  the  valleys  has  led  to  a  number  of 
applications  for  Carey  Act  lands  where  the  proposed  system  of  reclamation  is  by  means 
of  artesian  wells  and  pumping  plants.  In  order  to  meet  the  situation,  which  is  without 
precedent  elsewhere,  the  State  Commission  devised  and  adopted  a  procedure  which 
enables  the  contractor  to  undertake  the  sinking  of  artesian  wells  on  a  segregation  without 
being  compelled,  under  his  bond,  to  carry  out  the  enterprise  beyond  the  limits  of  "economic 

27 


>^3 


feasibility.*'  In  other  words,  the  State  recognizes  the  inherent  uncertainties  of  the  under- 
taking and  will  not  compel  the  fulfilment  of  a  proposed  project  beyond  what  is  reasonable 
and  just,  but  permits  the  contractor  to  relinquish  all  lands  which  he  originally  undertook 
to  reclaim,  on  proper  showing  that  the  progress  of  the  undertaking  has  demonstrated  that 
such  lands  cannot  be  reclaimed  except  at  greater  expense  than  the  profits  of  the  under- 
taking warrant.  The  field  of  opportunity  for  artesian  Carey  Act  projects  in  Nevada  is 
very  extensive  and  yet  is  only  in  small  part  covered. 

SUBDIVIDING  THE  GREAT  RANCHES 

As  previously  stated,  the  second  industry  in  importance  in  the  State,  after  mining, 
is  stock-raising.  Nearly  all  the  early  farmers,  as  distinguished  from  the  stockmen,  had 
each  a  herd  of  cattle  or  a  flock  of  sheep.  The  State  land  grants  until  they  were 
exhausted  enabled  land  to  be  acquired  at  a  low  price  and  in  large  tracts.  The  result 
was  that  big  ranches  became  the  rule,  and  tracts  of  thousands  of  acres  passed  into  single 
ownerships.  The  agriculturist  was  thus  deprived  of  many  opportunities  for  securing 
arable  lands  which  he  would  have  been  glad  to  have  entered  upon  and  reclaimed. 

Each  succeeding  year,  now,  more  and  more  of  the  arable  lands  of  these  great  ranches 
is  becoming  too  valuable  for  mere  grazing  purposes.  In  some  instances  there  are  vested 
water  rights  sufficient  to  reclaim  extensive  areas,  and  in  other  cases  the  land  is  so  situated 
with  reference  to  natural  streams  as  to  be  entirely  feasible  of  reclamation.  In  former 
years  the  stockmen  viewed  with  little  favor  the  advent  of  the  small  farmer.  That  day  is 
past;  more  particularly  since  the  Government  adopted  the  policy  of  leasing  and  exercising 
federal  supervision  over  the  public  range  lands.  The  stockman  is  thus  protected  from 
trespass  in  what  he  leases,  and  the  fear  that  the  new  settler  may  encroach  upon  his  range, 
after  once  getting  a  foothold  as  a  farmer,  is  removed. 

A  number  of  owners  of  arable  tracts  capable  of  reclamation  and  subdivision  into 
small  farms,  within  the  past  year  have  signified  willingness  to  put  them  on  the  market. 
The  ranch  owner,  as  a  rule,  is  not  disposed  to  attempt  the  colonization  of  the  tract  him- 
self, but  prefers  to  sell  outright  for  a  lump  sum,  usually  part  cash  and  the  balance  in 
annual  payments  with  interest.  The  prices  asked,  as  a  rule,  are  reaonable,  and  afford 
opportunity  for  the  purchaser  to  make  a  very  substantial  profit  by  subdividing  the  tract 
and  reselling  it  in  small  holdings. 

These  great  ranches  also  offer  special  inducements  for  community  colonization;  that 
is  to  say,  where  a  number  of  homeseekers  and  their  families  desire  to  immigrate  in  a  body 
in  order  to  settle  in  a  new  country  with  their  kinspeople  and  neighbors.  There  are 
instances  where  ranches  of  from  ten  to  fifty  thousand  acres  can  be  acquired,  part  arable 
lands  and  part  range  lands,  capable  of  a  combination  of  both  farming  and  stock-raising, 
and  which  offer  special  opportunities  for  whole  communities  to  settle  upon  and  develop 
into  prosperous  little  commonwealths. 

Drainage  of  Swamps  and  Lowlands, 

There  are  several  instances  in  the  State  of  extensive  areas  of  swamp-lands  along  the 
course  of  the  various  rivers  which  could  be  drained  at  reasonable  expense,  and  thus 
reclaim  in  each  case  several  thousand  acres  of  rich  silt  bottom-lands.  This  land  is  now 
covered  with  tules  and  natural  grass  and  is  used  for  pasture  and  the  growing  of  wild 
hay.  The  soil  is  likely  to  contain  some  alkali,  but  which  may  be  readily  leached  out 
when  the  land  is  drained.  The  high  subsurface  water-table  causes  the  alkali  to  rise  and 
in  many  cases  about  all  there  is  of  it  is  immediately  visible  on  the  surface.  The  con- 
struction of  drainage  ditches  followed  by  the  "washing'*  of  the  land — flowing  fresh 
water  over  it  for  a  few  weeks  during  the  fall  or  spring — in  the  majority  of  instances  will 
remove  the  salts.  The  silt  is  frequently  from  ten  to  fifty  feet  deep,  black  from  the  humus 
of  decomposed  vegetable  material.  Its  fertility  when  drained  is  prodigious.  Crops  of 
from  fifty  to  seventy-five  bushels  of  wheat,  ten  to  fifteen  tons  of  potatoes  and  from  twenty 

29 


to  thirty  tons  of  onions  per  acre  are  not  unusual  on  these  drained  bottoms.  Such  land,  after 
drainage  and  with  a  sufficient  water  right,  is  worth  easily  from  $150  to  $250  per  acre. 
The  drainage  problem  does  not  involve  tiling,  but  deep  ditching  transverse  with  the  land's 
gradient,  and  these  laterals  leading  into  the  main  drainage  ditch  or  channel  deepened 
to  permit  the  water-table  of  the  tract  to  be  lowered  from  three  to  six  feet. 

INDUSTRIAL  OPPORTUNITIES 

Local  capital  and  enterprise  have  largely  kept  pace  with  the  industrial  requirements 
of  the  State.  While  in  some  isolated  instances  there  may  be  profitable  openings,  it  may 
be  stated,  as  a  general  rule,  that  Nevada  is  well  supplied  with  mercantile  establishments 
of  all  kinds,  foundries,  machine  shops,  flour  mills,  and  the  lesser  local  industrial  shops  and 
manufactories.  The  State  is  growing  rapidly,  however,  and  there  is  always  an  opening 
for  a  live  man  with  capital  in  any  community,  and  especially  in  this  virgin  commonwealth. 

We  can  mention,  nevertheless,  a  few  special  opportunities  for  financial  enterprise 
which,  at  the  present  time,  are  entirely  open,  as  follows: 

Woolen  Mills:  Since  Nevada  clips  annually  about  6,600,000  pounds  of  wool, 
has  abundant  cheap  electric  power  and  an  invigorating  climate  for  workmen,  it  would 
seem  that  where  the  raw  material  is  produced  in  such  quantity  there  should  be  an  opening 
for  a  profitable  woolen  mill.  At  the  present  time  the  Nevada  clip  is  shipped  to  Boston 
or  Philadelphia  for  manufacturing  into  goods  which  are  shipped  back  again  to  the 
Coast. 

Beet-sugar  Factories:  The  first  beet-sugar  factory  in  the  State  will  be  completed 
and  in  operation  at  Fallon  by  the  time  this  booklet  reaches  the  public.  It  will  have  a 
daily  capacity  of  650  tons,  and  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $600,000.  This  season's 
operations  will  hardly  be  an  indication  of  its  success  or  failure,  since  the  beet  acreage 
planted  is  inadequate,  and  the  farmers  are  not  as  yet  familiar  with  beet  culture.  The 
operating  company  has  had  wide  experience  in  manufacturing  beet-sugar,  however,  and 
in  carrying  through  to  success  the  educational  propaganda  required  to  teach  the  farmer 
the  art  of  growing  beets.  Their  practical  enthusiasm  over  the  outlook  is  extremely 
reassuring.  Beets  grow  prolifically  in  the  State  and  are  found  to  contain  an  extraordi- 
narly  high  per  cent,  of  saccharine.  The  ultimate  success  of  this  initial  factory  from  which 
so  much  is  hoped  will  supply  the  incentive  for  the  erection  of  others,  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  many  other  great  tracts  of  land  in  different  portions  of  the  State  are  equally 
adaptable  to  beet  culture. 

Lignite  Briquetting  Plant:  Coal  retails  in  Nevada  from  nine  dollars  to 
seventeen  dollars  per  ton,  and  is  shipped  in  from  Colorado,  Wyoming  and  Utah.  The 
larger  part  of  the  fuel  used  for  domestic  purposes  is  wood.  At  several  points  in  the 
State  are  extensive  veins  of  sub-bituminous  coal  and  lignite,  conveniently  located  to  rail- 
road transportation,  and  of  a  tested  quality  that  would  make  excellent  briquettes.  The 
local  demand  for  such  fuel  would  alone  make  a  briquetting  plant  on  any  of  these  veins 
a  highly  profitable  enterprise. 

Alfalfa  Meal  Mills:  While  Nevada  is  pre-eminently  an  alfalfa-growing  state, 
the  first  alfalfa  meal  mill  has  yet  to  be  erected.  There  are  several  localities  where  such 
a  mill  would  prove  profitable.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  supplies  for  all  the 
mining  camps  off^  the  railroad  have  to  be  transported  by  teams.  Owing  to  its  convenience 
in  handling,  alfalfa  meal  would  have  a  ready  sale  to  teamsters  in  preference  to  baled 
hay.     The  demand  from  this  special  source  alone  would  be  extensive. 

Creameries:  There  are  a  number  of  profitable  creameries  in  the  State.  But  there 
are  opportunities  for  many  more.  The  climate  and  great  extent  of  grazing  and  forage 
lands  should  put  Nevada  naturally  in  the  first  rank  as  a  dairying  state.  This  is  one 
of  its  greatest  lines  for  development  and  as  yet,  we  might  say,  the  industry  is  but  fairly 
started.  The  conditions  in  Nevada — high  altitude,  pure  water,  abundant  nutritious 
grazing  and  forage  crops,  and  a  specially  healthful  climate  for  stock — are  ideal  for 
dairying.    The  butter  and  cheese  produced  by  the  present  creameries  are  unsurpassed. 

30 


CHAPTER  IV 

Opportunities   for  the  Homeseeker  of  Limited  Capital  but  Rich  in  Courage   and  Enterprise — He  Musi 

Come  Prepared  to  Accept  the  Conditions  of  a  New  and  Unusual  Environment — To  Succeed  He 

Must  Be  One  to  Enter  into  the  Spirit  "Which  Actuated  the   Men  and  "Women  of 

the  New  "West — The  Spirit  "Which  Delights  in  the  Conquest  of  Adverse 

Nature  in  Order  to  See  the  Wastes  Spring  Forth  with  Abundance 

It  was  a  government  reclamation  engineer*  who  said : 

"The  call  of  the  West  comes  to  us  to-day  insistent  and  inviting.  The  desert — 
mysterious,  silent,  expectant,  quivering  under  cloudless  skies — holds  a  promise  of  freedom 
and  independence  to  the  careworn  and  to  the  discouraged.  It  offers  the  uplift  of 
unmeasured  distances  and  the  individual  home  with  that  broader  freedom  of  action  which 
comes  with  life  in  the  open.  Irrigation  canals  long  enough  to  girdle  the  globe  with  triple 
bands  have  spread  wide  oases  of  green  in  the  arid  places.  Cheerful  and  prosperous 
communities  dot  a  landscape  once  vacant  and  voiceless." 

Versatility  of  the  West. 

Not  every  homeseeker  will  be  satisfied  with  conditions  in  the  arid  West.  Not  every 
homeseeker  can  cope  with  conditions  in  Nevada.  America  is  so  large  and  the  West  so 
wonderful  in  its  versatility  that  there  are  places  and  opportunities  suitable  to  everyone  who 
will  but  seek  and  find.  This  State  holds  opportunities  for  men  and  women  of  a  special 
type.  Those  who  have  in  their  blood  something  of  the  venturesome  pioneering  spirit, 
who  can  cheerfully  and  courageously  cope  with  some  adversity,  and,  if  necessary,  with 
hardships,  who  are  energetic  and  resourceful,  and  to  whom  a  few  years  of  struggle  is  as 
nothing  if  the  goal  of  a  thrifty  competence  is  assured. 

There  are  many  thousands  of  such  men  and  women  in  America,  who,  if  they  but 
knew  of  the  opportunities  here,  would  give  this  State  first  choice,  and  who  would  find 
nothing  but  hope  and  happiness  in  the  conquering  of  success.  On  the  other  hand  there 
are  multitudes  for  whom  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  come  here.  For  them  there  are  other 
sections  of  the  country  infinitely  better  suited.  But  for  the  homeseeker,  adapted  to  meet 
the  conditions  here,  there  is  no  other  land  which  holds  for  him  such  promise. 

Qualifications  Required  of  the  Settler, 

Let  us  digress  briefly  to  discuss  the  qualifications  which  a  homeseeker  should  possess 
who  expects  to  acquire  unimproved  land  in  Nevada  and  through  his  own  labor  and 
resources  bring  it  under  cultivation.  This  is  the  pioneer  settler.  We  are  not  here  referring 
to  the  homeseeker  who  is  able  to  buy  improved  property,  but  to  the  one  who  must  start  on 
the  virgin  desert,  clear  the  sagebrush,  till  and  plant  the  land,  and  where  was  waste  when 
he  began  will,  in  time  and  through  his  labor,  experience  and  effort,  transform  it  into  a 
homestead  of  trees,  garden,  orchard  and  field. 

It  i«!  quite  evident  that  he  and  his  family  should  be  of  strong  fiber  and  have  that 
in  their  characters  which  takes  joy  in  the  wide  freedom  of  the  desert;  who  have  a  natural 
love  for  mountains  and  far-stretches  of  gray  landscape;  and  who  will  not  repine  from 
loneliness  and  longing  for  scenes  left  behind,  but  can  from  the  day  of  their  coming  call 
the  wastes  "home." 

And  the  homeseeker  will  have  to  possess  some  little  capital,  proportional  to  how 
many  are  dependent  upon  him.  It  is  not  easy  to  fix  any  minimum.  Much  will  depend 
on  his  ability  and  resourcefulness.  If  we  say  $2,500,  some  would  succeed  with  less 
and  others  need  twice  and  three  times  that.  Perhaps  we  can  give  a  clearer  idea  by 
assuming  a  hypothetical  case. 

The  Hypothetical  Settler. 

Let  us  assume  that  the  settler  has  a  wife  and  possibly  children,  none  of  the  latter 
old  enough  to  be  of  material  assistance.  He  writes  to  the  State  Commission  issuing 
this  booklet,  stating  all  the  pertinent  facts  about  himself;  what  experience  he  has  had 
in  farming  and  if  any  in  irrigation;  what  farming  implements  he  has;  whether  any  work- 

*  C.  J.  Blanchard.  31 


AN    EVIDENCE    OF    THE   F 


horses,  wagons,  mowing  machines,  etc.,  and  the  extent  of  his  cash  capital.  Also  what 
crops  he  has  been  accustomed  to  raise  and  the  kind  of  farming  he  prefers.  The  Com- 
mission will  advise  him  to  the  best  of  its  ability  as  to  the  locality  or  localities  in  the  State 
he  had  best  visit  and  will  put  him  in  touch  with  those  from  whom  he  can  secure  land, 
the  price  of  the  land,  the  terms  of  payment,  and  the  character  of  the  soil. 

If  he  writes  asking  if  he  may  not  take  up  land  in  the  State  under  the  Homestead  or 
Desert  Land  acts,  he  will  be  told  that  if  he  has  not  previously  exercised  such  right  he 
can  do  so  in  Nevada,  since  the  unappropriated  public  domain  covers  millions  of  acres. 
But  that  he  can  do  nothing  with  any  land  he  can  homestead  or  acquire  under  the  Desert 
Land  Act,  however  naturally  arable,  without  there  is  water  obtainable  for  its  irrigation. 
That  while  dry-farming  may  succeed  in  certain  places  in  the  State,  the  successes  so  far 
have  been  usually  where  there  is  a  natural  subsurface  water-table  close  enough  to  supply 


^iwmtf^t'^'^^^^NmTW^'mF'm^mf^'M^ 


CUTTING    ALFALFA    ON     THE    V 


wm^Bssmmmmsm 


^THE    NEVADA   SOIL 

a  substantial  part  of  the  moisture  required  for  the  crop.  That  he  might,  if  he  prefers 
to  undertake  the  search,  in  time  find  a  quarter-section  on  which  he  could  file  that  is 
susceptible  of  reclamation  from  some  unappropriated  natural  stream,  but  he  must  bear 
in  mind  that  there  are  not  many  streams  in  the  State  whose  natural  flow  during  the 
irrigation  season  is  not  already  appropriated.  On  the  other  hand,  that  the  conservation 
of  the  flood  waters  of  any  stream  by  the  construction  of  a  private  storage  system  is  likely 
to  be  beyond  his  individual  resources.  Lastly,  that  if  his  resources  permit,  he  might  find 
a  quarter-section  favorably  situated  for  the  development  of  artesian  water  and  employ  a 
custom  drilling  outfit  to  put  down  a  well.  If  he  encounter  a  flow  sufficient  to  reclaim 
twenty  acres  or  more  to  begin  with,  he  is  independent  and  on  the  highway  to  success.* 

*  The  State  Commission  is   prci)aring  a  bulletin  on   artesian   reclamation   in   Nevada,   anrl   special   atten- 
tion will  be  given  to  the  subject  from  the  standpoint  of  the  individual  entryman  on  the  public  domain. 


OF    THE    RECLAIMED    DESERT 


ZZ 


He  will  be  told  that  unimproved  land,  with  a  water  right  sufficient  for  its  irrigation, 
can  be  purchased  on  the  instalment  plan  for  from  $30  to  $75  per  acre,  depending  on 
the  location  and  the  value  of  the  land  when  reclaimed.  For  $50  per  acre  to  the  higher 
price  he  should  get  level  sagebrush  land  within  close  proximity  to  a  railroad  and  to  some 
settled  community.  Eighty  acres  of  such  land,  under  ordinary  cultivation,  and  forty  acres 
under  the  best  farming  methods,  will  support  a  family. 

Possibilities  of  a  Sixt})-acre  Tract. 

Let  us  assume  that  the  hypothetical  settler  possesses  $2,500  cash  capital;  has  some 
farming  experience  but  none  in  irrigation;  has  disposed  of  all  his  horses,  wagons  and 
farming  implements  and  has  retained  only  his  domestic  and  household  effects.  That 
he  exercises  good  judgment  in  selecting  a  sixty-acre  tract  of  level  sagebrush  land  with  a 
good  water  right,  for  which  he  contracts  to  pay  $65  per  acre,  one-tenth  in  cash  and 
the  balance  in  nine  equal  annual  instalments,  with  interest  at  six  per  cent.  That  he  brings 
his  family  and  household  effects  with  him  and  takes  possession  of  the  tract  in  the  early 
fall.  He  will  need  a  house  to  live  in  and  this  will  have  to  be  primitive.  If  he  is  at 
all  skilful  he  can  build  it  himself.  A  three-room  house,  14x35  feet  ground  plan, 
with  tongue  and  groove  floor,  rough  board  walls,  lined  on  the  outside  with  building  or 
roofing  paper  and  battened,  with  windows,  doors,  etc.,  will  cost  for  the  materials  about 
$300.  Such  a  house  cloth  and  papered  on  the  inside  will  be  reasonably  comfortable 
and  inviting.  He  will  need  to  buy  a  wagon,  a  span  of  good  work-horses,  harnesses  and 
a  cow.  These  three  items  will  cost  him  about  $500.  A  shed,  stable  and  corral  will 
cost  him  for  the  materials  about  $75  more.  He  will  need  about  eight  months*  supply 
of  hay  to  feed  his  stock,  unless  there  is  a  convenient  pasture  near  which  he  can  rent.  This 
will  require  about  ten  tons  which,  hauling  it  himself,  will  cost  him  about  $75.  He  must 
purchase  groceries  and  supplies  for  himself  and  family  during  the  ensuing  twelve  months, 
which  at  $30  per  month  will  cost  $360.  Allowing  $50  more  for  clothing  and  incidentals, 
these  several  items  foot  up  to  $1,750.  He  will  need  to  buy  a  plow,  mowing  machine, 
rake,  and  various  farming  implements  before  he  can  harvest  his  crop,  costing  altogether 
about  $1  75.     And  he  will  need  to  buy  seed. 

During  the  fall,  winter  and  early  spring  he  will  be  able  to  clear  his  land  and  do 
what  leveling  is  necessary.  The  sagebrush  stumps  he  can  use  for  domestic  fuel.  He 
will  have  to  dig  his  service  ditch  from  the  source  of  water-supply,  possibly  half  a  mile  in 
length.  He  had  best  employ  a  surveyor  for  a  day,  costing  $10,  to  give  his  grade 
lines  and  those  of  the  principal  diverting  ditches  on  his  tract.  He  will  plow  his  ditches 
and  afterwards  shovel  them  out.  He  will  require  a  few  dollars'  worth  of  lumber  to  make 
his  distributing  boxes. 

By  planting-time  he  will  have  decided  as  to  the  best  crops  to  put  in.  During  the  fall 
and  winter  he  has  gathered  all  the  information  possible  from  local  farmers,  corresponded 
with  the  Nevada  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  at  Reno,  and  supplied  himself  with 
government  and  experiment  station  bulletins  regarding  irrigation  methods  and  the 
culture  of  the  crops  he  has  selected.  He  has  finally  decided,  let  us  say,  to  grow  twenty 
acres  of  alfalfa,  five  acres  of  potatoes,  and  put  the  balance  of  his  ground  in  wheat. 
Reserving  one  acre  for  house  yard  and  corrals,  this  leaves  him  thirty-four  acres  for  grain. 
His  soil  being  the  ordinary  gravel  loam  which  underlies  the  black  sagebrush  will  not 
require  plowing  before  seeding  for  either  alfalfa  or  wheat.*  He  will  follow  competent 
advice  as  to  the  time  of  planting,  as  also  the  furrowing  of  the  land  for  irrigation.  The 
spring  moisture  in  the  soil  will  start  the  crop.  The  alfalfa  this  first  year  will  have  to  be 
watched  with  the  greatest  care,  not  to  give  it  too  much  water  or  too  little.  From  the 
middle  of  April  until  his  crops  are  harvested  he  will  employ  an  experienced  irrigator 
whom  he  will  pay  about  $40  per  month  and  found  for  four  months  and  a  half,  at 
a  total  expense  for  labor  and  keep  of  about  $200.  His  alfalfa,  wheat,  and  potato  seed 
will  cost  him  another  $200.  He  will  have  to  hire  a  custom  reaper  or  header  to  cut 
his  grain  and  a  machine  to  thresh  it.     All  the  other  work  will  be  done  by  himself  and 

*  Not  every  soil  can  be  planted  in  alfalfa  or  grain  without  plowing,  but  it  has  been  found  satisfactory 
on  much  of  the  black  sagebrush  land  where  the  surface  is  even,  and  resulted  in  excellent  stands. 

34 


I  his  hired  man.  After  paying  for  all,  his  original  cash  will  be  exhausted,  but  he  will 
have  his  crops  harvested.  If  he  has  employed  a  competent  irrigator,  they  should  be 
reasonably  good. 
The  first  year  from  his  twenty  acres  of  alfalfa  he  should  get  one  crop  of  from 
thirty  to  thirty-five  tons.  Reserving  what  he  will  require  for  stock  feed,  he  will  have 
possibly  twenty  tons  to  sell  which  at  $7  per  ton  will  bring  him  in  $140.  His  wheat, 
on  new  soil,  should  yield  ordinarily  thirty-five  bushels  to  the  acre  and  at  $1 
per  bushel  bring  him  in  about  $850  net,  after  sacking  and  transportation  charges. 
From  his  five  acres  of  potatoes,  assuming  a  fair  normal  yield,  he  would  harvest  about 
thirty  tons,  which  should  bring  him  in  about  $500  after  reserving  seed  for  the  following 
year.  The  total  value  of  his  marketable  crop,  therefore,  would  be  close  to  $1 ,500.  After 
paying  his  second  instalment,  amounting  to  $590.60,  principal  and  interest,  he  will  have 
about  $900  left,  also  all  his  grain  and  potato  seed,  and  a  considerable  part  of  his  farm- 
grown  food  supplies  to  carry  him  over  until  next  harvest.  He  has  learned  much  of  the 
art  of  irrigation  and,  with  the  experience  gained,  the  following  year  should  largely 
increase  the  value  of  his  crops.  His  twenty  acres  of  alfalfa,  for  example,  the  second 
year  and  thereafter  should  produce  five  tons  to  the  acre. 

The  foregoing,  while  it  expresses  conditions  and  results  more  or  less  ideal,  is 
based  on  the  substantial  assumption  that  the  settler  had  selected  a  tract  of  good 
land  requiring  little  or  no  leveling;  that  he  had  taken  possession  of  it  the  fall  before, 
thus  giving  him  time  to  clear  it,  construct  his  ditches  and  establish  his  home  before 
planting-time ;  that  he  had  purchased  the  best  of  seed,  sown  it  at  the  proper  time  and  that 
instead  of  attempting  to  irrigate  the  tract  himself,  had  the  wisdom  to  employ  an 
experienced  irrigator  who  prevented  him  from  ruining  any  crop  by  the  blunders  his 
inexperience  would  naturally  make,  and  that  his  water-supply  had  been  adequate.  The 
price  of  $65  per  acre  for  the  uncleared  land  and  water  right  is  reasonably  ample  to 
get  land  and  a  water  right  of  the  character  described.  And  in  addition  it  will  be 
noted  that  the  conditions  of  level  land  and  the  crops  chosen  are  such  as  to  permit  the 
seeding  of  most  of  the  total  acreage  without  plowing. 

Even  in  this  instance,  it  is  evident  that  the  settler  could  not  well  have  succeeded  with 
less  than  $2,500  capital.  Yet  we  know  of  settlers  who  have  been  successful  with  as 
low  as  $1,000  capital,  and  some  who  have  not  succeeded  with  $5,000  capital.  The 
largest  factor  in  the  equation  is  the  settler  himself.  Good  judgment  in  selecting  his  land 
and  water  right,  in  conducting  the  business  of  clearing  and  seeding  his  farm,  and  then, 
if  he  knows  nothing  of  irrigation,  in  employing  the  most  skilful  man  who  does.  Where 
crops  are  grown  by  irrigation,  the  man  with  the  irrigating  shovel  holds  the  key  to  the 
situation.  By  giving  a  crop  too  much  or  too  little  water,  or  at  the  wrong  time,  he  can 
|h  cause  the  loss  in  a  day  of  more  than  his  wages  for  a  year.  But  under  his  skill  the  kiss 
W  of  the  water  to  the  thirsty  soil  causes  the  desert  to  smile  with  verdure  and  bloom,  and 
arid  Nature  to  grow  pregnant  with  harvest. 

The  Homeseeker  with  Capital, 

The  homeseeker  with  more  capital  may  exercise  his  choice  between  a  larger  acreage 
of  unimproved  land,  or  to  purchase  outright  improved  land.  Improved  farms  of  from 
eighty  acres  to  several  hundred  acres,  depending  on  location  and  fruitfulness,  will  cost 
all  the  way  from  $50  to  $250  per  acre.  Many  of  such  farms  are  in  the  hands  of  owners 
who  are  far  from  being  up-to-date  agriculturists,  and  can  be  made  to  produce  four  and 
five-fold  greater  harvests  than  at  present.  The  homeseeker  with  from  $8,000  to  $25,000 
capital  will  do  well  to  visit  the  agricultural  districts  of  the  State  with  a  view  to  acquiring 
improved  farm  property.  The  opening  in  Nevada  to  secure  farm  lands  which  can  be 
made  highly  profitable  is  unsurpassed,  and  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  only  in  a 
degree  has  the  farming  industry  in  the  State  as  yet  made  any  transition  from  the  old-style 
farming — following  the  lines  of  least  resistance — to  the  new,  where  the  soil  is  made  to 
give  forth  its  greatest  possible  abundance. 

35 


CHAPTER  V 

Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Crops,  Plants,   Fruits  and  Trees  Which  Thrive  Generally  or  in  Special 

Localities  in  the  State 

Unless  along  the  banks  of  some  river  or  stream  where  cottonwoods  grow,  the  valleys 
of  Nevada  in  their  natural  state  were  destitute  of  trees,  if  we  except  the  Yucca  or 
joshua-tree  which  can  be  found  standing  in  uncouth  shapes  on  the  southern  deserts.  In 
the  high  mountains  are  indigenous  pines  and  pinon,  fir,  juniper  and  cedar,  and  along  the 
mountain  streams  grew  the  quaking-aspen,  elder,  choke  cherry,  and  a  considerable  variety 
of  bushes  and  shrubs. 

Ornamental  and  Shade  Trees. 

Wherever  civilization  has  established  itself  in  the  valleys,  ornamental,  shade  and 
fruit  trees  have  been  planted  and  many  varieties  grow  with  extreme  thriftiness.  Perhaps 
the  quickest  growing  of  these  trees  for  general  purposes  is  the  Carolina  poplar,  and  one 
of  the  most  valuable  for  shade  and  ornamental  purposes.  In  five  years  it  attains 
large  proportions,  lives  to  a  considerable  age,  and  is  profitable  to  grow  as  a  fuel.  The 
cork-bark  and  English  elm,  black  walnut,  locust,  maple,  hawthorne,  box  elder,  mulberry, 
and  many  other  varieties  of  northern  trees  do  well  in  all  parts  of  the  State,  including  most 
of  the  ornamental  evergreens.  In  southern  Nevada  may  be  added  the  catalpa,  palm, 
olive,  and  possibly  in  places  certain  varieties  of  the  eucalyptus.  Some  of  the  glorious 
trees  of  from  ten  to  forty  years  old  in  the  towns  and  early  farming  settlements  testify  to 
the  possibilities  of  ornamental  shade  trees  in  this  State. 

FRUIT-GROWING 

Very  little  attention  has  as  yet  been  given  to  fruit  culture,  save  in  a  few  instances. 
While  most  of  the  farmers  have  an  acre  or  two  of  orchard,  as  a  rule  the  trees  are  not 
cultivated,  alfalfa  or  other  grass  grows  at  will  between  the  trees  and  little  care  is  given 
to  intelligent  pruning.  Only  in  rare  instances  are  any  preventive  measures  taken  against 
frosts,  with  the  result  that  the  crop  is  uncertain  and  during  the  bearing  years  the  trees 
are  too  heavily  loaded.  There  are,  however,  a  few  well-kept  orchards,  well  located 
along  the  hill  slopes  to  escape  the  frosts,  and  which  bear  prolifically.  Apples,  pears, 
peaches,  plums,  prunes,  apricots,  cherries,  quinces,  pomegranates,  nectarines  are  grown, 
and  it  has  ceased  to  be  a  question  as  to  whether  or  not  certain  favorable  sections  of  the 
State  will  not  eventually  develop  into  important  fruit-growing  districts.  The  frost-pro- 
tected hill  slopes  are  to  be  chosen,  and  the  homeseeker  looking  for  an  orchard  site  will 
find  what  he  is  seeking  in  a  number  of  places  and  be  able  to  secure  the  land  at  low  cost. 
The  fruit  crop,  while  limited  as  yet,  is  unexcelled  both  in  flavor  and  in  keeping  qualities. 
It  is  possible  that  in  some  portions  of  Pahrump  Valley  and  on  the  Virgin  River,  in 
extreme  southern  Nevada,  oranges,  lemons,  and  grapefruit  may  be  grown.  The  danger 
being  from  winter-killing  is  due  to  the  fact  that  throughout  southern  Nevada  there  is  apt 
to  be  each  winter  a  few  nights  when  the  temperature  will  fall  below  the  frost  point  and 
once  in  several  years  as  low  as  fifteen  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  improvement  in  orchard 
heating  in  recent  years  and  the  rareness  of  frosts  and  extreme  cold  in  southern  Nevada 
give  promise  that  such  citrus  fruits  may  yet  be  successfully  grown. 

Berries  and  Small  Fruits. 

Blackberries,  raspberries,  dewberries,  loganberries,  gooseberries,  currants,  strawberries 
and  the  like  grow  thriftily  in  almost  every  section  of  the  State. 

Cantaloupes  and  Watermelons. 

Southern  Nevada,  like  Imperial  Valley,  is  a  natural  home  for  the  cantaloup,  casaba, 
and  watermelon,  which  are  grown  and  shipped  by  the  carloads  East  from  Moapa  and 
Las  Vegas.     The  cantaloupes  grown  on  the  Muddy  River  bottoms  and  at  several  other 

37 


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points  south  will  rival  those  produced  anywhere  else  in  the  country.  The  crop  is  very 
profitable,  bringing  in  a  gross  income  of  from  $100  to  $350  per  acre.  While  cantaloupes 
and  watermelons  are  raised  generally  throughout  the  other  agricultural  sections,  it  is  more 
for  household  and  local  consumption. 

Market  Gardening  Crops. 

Potatoes:  This  is  the  principal  export  crop  of  the  State.  Not  every  section  of 
America  is  adapted  to  growing  this  great  staple.  The  Nevada  potato  has  taken  the 
first  award  at  several  fairs,  international  expositions  and  produce  shows,  and  if  equaled  in 
points  of  good  qualities  by  those  grown  in  any  other  favored  sections  of  the  country  for 
the  tuber,  it  is  unsurpassed,  to  say  the  least.  It  grows  evenly,  when  properly  cultivated, 
of  uniform  size,  clear  and  healthy  skin,  firm  texture,  free  from  disease,  is  not  watery  and 
when  cooked  is  dry,  mealy  and  white  as  a  snowdrift.  In  every  market  where  the  Nevada 
potato  is  known  it  commands  a  premium.  It  is  no  mean  agricultural  art  to  get  the 
best  results  in  potato-growing.  It  requires  experience  and  intelligence  to  know  when 
and  how  to  plant  the  crop,  how  deep  the  irrigation  furrows  should  be  and  the  precise 
quantity  of  water  required.  But  where  the  art  is  mastered  the  profits  from  potato- 
growing  one  year  with  another  are  very  great.  The  average  yield  is  about  six  tons  to  the 
acre,  or  200  bushels,  under  any  reasonably  skilful  handling,  but  the  leading  potato 
growers  of  the  State  grow  from  eight  to  fifteen  tons  per  acre.  The  average  selling  price 
is  about  twenty  dollars  per  ton  or  sixty  cents  per  bushel.  A  net  profit  of  $200  per 
acre  on  the  crop  is  not  unusual  in  seasons  of  good  prices. 

Onions:  This  is  likewise  a  very  profitable  crop,  but  for  the  best  results  requires  a 
black  silt  soil,  usually  found  only  along  the  river-bottoms.  From  fifteen  to  thirty  tons 
per  acre  are  harvested  from  such  lands.  The  market  varies  between  wide  extremes,  some 
years  hardly  paying  the  cost  of  the  crop  and  another  year  giving  an  enormous  profit. 
This  is  an  important  export  crop. 

Sugar-beets:  To  supply  the  new  sugar-beet  factory  at  Fallon  with  65,000  tons 
of  sugar-beets  per  annum,  a  large  opening  is  created  for  the  growing  of  sugar-beets 
throughout  the  tributary  territory.  As  stated  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  local  farmers  are 
as  yet  unfamiliar  with  beet  culture.  For  the  homeseeker  who  is,  there  is  a  great  opening 
to  lease  land  of  the  farmers  on  shares,  to  acquire  lands  by  purchase  or  to  homestead  on 
the  Truckee-Carson  Reclamation  Project.  Tests  of  beets  grown  in  the  vicinity  for  a 
number  of  years  gave  a  general  average  of  seventeen  per  cent,  sugar;  purity  89.95.  The 
price  paid  for  the  beets  is  based  on  sugar  content:  five  dollars  per  ton  on  a  base  rate  of 
fifteen  per  cent,  sugar,  and  thirty  cents  per  ton  for  each  per  cent,  above.  In  addition  there 
is  a  compensating  additional  allowance  for  varying  distances  of  transportation  from  the 
field  to  the  factory. 

Celery:  This  is  a  crop  which  seems  to  be  particularly  adapted  to  the  soil  and 
climatic  conditions  in  the  State.  There  is  a  strong  demand  both  from  local  sources  and 
for  export.  Nevada  celery  is  tender,  brittle,  grows  thriftily  and  is  free  from  rust  and 
disease.     It  requires  a  sandy  loam  or  silt  soil,  and  its  growth  is  extremely  profitable. 

Asparagus:  Like  celery,  asparagus  is  a  crop  now  attracting  attention  in  many 
places  where  tests  have  proved  it  to  be  specially  adapted.  About  200  acres  are  grown 
in  the  Muddy  Valley,  maturing  in  March,  and  conmiands  a  high  price  in  the  Chicago 
and  New  York  markets.     Profits  as  high  as  $400  per  acre  have  been  made. 

Other  Vegetable  Crops:  All  ordinary  garden  vegetables,  such  as  corn,  tomatoes, 
lettuce,  squash,  pumpkins,  cucumbers,  egg-plants,  turnips,  carrots,  etc.,  may  be  grown 
generally  throughout  the  State. 


FORAGE    CROPS. 


Alfalfa:  This  is  the  State's  most  important  agricultural  crop.  All  soils,  excepting 
those  containing  an  excess  of  alkali  or  having  a  water-table  nearer  than  six  feet  below 
the  surface,  are  adapted  to  its  growth.     The  yield  will  vary  from  two  tons  per  acre  on 


39 


inferior  soils  in  northern  and  central  Nevada  to  seven  and  eight  tons  on  better  soils  and 
as  high  as  twelve  tons  in  southern  Nevada.  In  the  higher  altitudes,  4,000  feet  and  over, 
two  crops  are  grown,  with  the  third  crop  left  for  fall  pasturing;  at  lower  altitudes,  approxi- 
mately 3,800  feet  elevation,  three  full  crops  are  harvested;  while  five  and  six  crops 
mature  in  southern  Nevada.  For  stock  feeding,  the  hay  is  fed  on  the  ranch  and  sells 
uniformly  at  about  $7  per  ton.  The  finer  grade,  mixed  with  timothy  and  bluegrass,  is 
hauled  or  shipped  to  the  towns  and  mining  camps  where  it  brings  from  $12  to  $20  per  ton. 
Sorghum:  The  recent  introduction  of  several  varieties  of  the  sorghums  in  a  few  sec- 
tions of  Nevada,  including  broom  corn,  sweet  sorghum,  Kaffir  corn,  and  milo,  with  the  most 
satisfactory  results,  indicates  that  the  soil  and  climate  are  all  that  could  be  desired  for 
the  growth  of  these  valuable  staples.  Milo,  especially,  is  a  drought  resisting  crop  and 
may  yet  be  successfully  cultivated  here  by  dry-farming  methods  in  certain  localities. 
Under  irrigation,  however,  the  sorghums  do  extremely  well  and  seem  to  grow  as  thriftily 
as  anywhere  in  the  Middle  West. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Conditions  in  Nevada  Exceptional  for  Raising  Hogs  for  Export  and  to  Supply  the  Local  Markets — Most 

of  the  Pork,  Bacon  and  Ham  Consumed  Is  Imported  from  the  Middle 

West — Poultry  Business — Apiaries 

The  hog,  for  no  reason  other  than  the  farmer  has  slept  on  a  money-making  oppor- 
tunity, has  been  grossly  neglected  in  Nevada.  Recently,  however,  there  has  been  some- 
what of  an  awakening.  A  number  of  farmers  in  different  sections  of  the  State  have 
discovered  that  the  humble  porker  is  full  of  money-making  possibilities,  and  have  turned 
their  attention  to  swine-raising.  They  have  discovered  that  there  is  large  and  certain 
profit  in  the  enterprise  and  with  no  danger  that  the  market  will  be  affected  by  any  excess 
supply.  Moreover  it  is  found  that  one  acre  of  alfalfa  will  support  and  fatten  from 
eight  to  twenty  hogs. 

PROFIT    IN    THE    HOG 

The  best  practice  is  to  have  the  alfalfa  acreage  divided  into  fenced  lots,  permitting 
the  hogs  to  forage  on  one  lot  at  a  time  so  that  the  land  may  be  irrigated  and  have  a 
chance  to  partially  dry  out  before  the  pasture  rotation  brings  the  hogs  again  on  the 
field.  Where  the  hog  has  plenty  of  room,  his  inclination  to  root  is  very  much  abated. 
Moreover  his  general  healthfulness  and  freedom  from  contagious  disease  such  as  hog  cholera 
is  materially  improved.  At  the  Nevada  Experimental  Station,  at  Reno,  hog 
cholera  serum  is  prepared,  and  the  Nevada  farmer,  discovering  a  case  of  supposed 
cholera  in  his  drove,  can  isolate  the  suspect,  innoculate  him  with  the  serum  and  the 
whole  drove  if  necessary.  The  day  is  past  when  the  hog  grower,  if  he  is  informed,  need 
fear  any  considerable  loss  from  this  formerly  disastrous  contagion.  Alfalfa  hay  as  a 
winter  ration  is  almost  as  satisfactory  as  when  grazed  in  the  field.  The  farmer,  however, 
to  get  the  best  results  should  grow  wheat,  oats,  barley,  corn,  cow  peas,  sugar-beets, 
pumpkins,  potatoes  or  pie  melons,  depending  on  the  climatic  conditions  and  character  of 
his  soil,  as  a  side  crop,  to  be  fed  with  the  alfalfa  for  a  month  or  two  at  fattening  time. 
Every  crop  best  suited  to  producing  pork  seems  to  be  specially  adapted  to  growth  in 
this  State,  added  to  which  as  an  advantage  is  the  moderate  winter  climate.  Under 
good  handling,  alfalfa,  turned  on  the  farm  into  pork,  is  equivalent  to  selling  the  hay 
crop  for  $25  or  more  per  ton,  instead  of  $7  per  ton.  A  forty-acre  Nevada  farm,  with 
thirty  acres  in  alfalfa  and  ten  acres  in  a  side  crop,  will  grow  everything  required  to  produce 
annually  from  50,000  pounds  to  100,000  pounds  of  pork,  which  at  five  and  one-half 
cents  per  pound,  the  minimum  price,  will  bring  in  an  income  of  from  $2,750  to  $5,500 
per  annum.  Thus  the  farmer  on  a  forty-acre  tract,  if  he  is  wide-awake,  can  make  more 
money  than  the  back-number  farmer  on  a  quarter-section  of  the  same  kind  of  land. 

40 


I 


SUf 

an; 


POULTRY-RAISING 

The  poultry  business  has  its  technical  side,  and  one  person  may  succeed  in  it  where 

many  others  will  fail.     There  is  much  detail  about  it,  some  special  knowledge  required 

of  the  habits,  diseases  and  characteristics  of  the  domesticated  feathered  family,  and  the 

ccessful   are  those  who  make  poultry-raising  a   study   and  the  marketing  of  the   eggs 

d  fowls  a  specialty.     From  the  standpoint  of  poultry-raising  in  Nevada,  the  following 

acts  are  important:   First,  that  not  enough  poultry  and  eggs  are  produced  to  begin  to 

supply  the  home  consumption;  second,  that  the  prices  for  both  are  higher  than  perhaps 

anywhere  else  in  the  country;  third,  that  the  climatic  and  other  conditions  are  as  good 

ere  as  anywhere  else,  and  lastly,  that  those  who  have  in  recent  years  gone  into  the  busi- 

ss  in  the  right  way  appear  to  be  making  money.      The  homeseeker,   looking  for  an 

portunity  to  go  into  poultry-raising  will  find  Nevada  as  promising  a  field  as  any,  to 

say  the  least. 

L  NEVADA    HONEY 

^  We  have  claimed  hitherto  in  this  booklet  that  Nevada  is  a  state  wonderfully  adapted 
to  alfalfa;  that  the  Nevada  potato,  if  not  the  best  grown  in  America,  at  least  has  no 
superior,  and  now  we  are  going  to  make  the  same  claim  for  honey. 

Clear,  white,  translucent,  with  a  flavor  of  alfalfa  bloom  and  as  delicious  as  fabled 
nectar,  if  any  other  section  of  America  produces  better  honey  than  this  State,  in  Western 
parlance,  it  has  to  go  some!  Let  us  investigate  the  reasons.  We  will  not  have  to 
prosecute  the  inquiry  far.  There  are  two,  namely:  The  great  stretches  of  alfalfa  fields, 
whose  purple  blossoms  distil  the  sweets,  and  the  cloudless  sunshiny  days  during  the 
season  when  the  bee  gathers  honey.  There  are  no  days  when  the  worker  has  to  lay 
off  and  get  a  grouch  on  about  the  lowering  weather.  She  can  be  up  with  the  lark 
between  the  time  the  first  spring  blossom  comes  on  the  hillside,  the  white  sage  appears, 
and  the  apple  trees  begin  to  bloom,  until  the  last  belated  blossom  withers  in  the  fall. 
There  is  no  rain  or  moisture  in  the  flower  to  trouble  and  annoy  her  in  getting  at  the 
sweets.  The  busy  bee  earns  her  reputation  in  Nevada  not  only  by  the  quantity  which 
she  puts  up  but  by  its  exquisite  quality. 

Apiculture  is  an  important  industry  in  Nevada  and  is  growing  rapidly  at  the  present 
time,  due  to  the  introduction  of  Nevada  honey  in  the  Eastern  markets  and  the  attention 
its  fine  quality  has  attracted.  At  the  present  time  there  are  about  1  0,000  colonies,  and 
from  the  great  extent  of  the  honey  flora  there  is  room  in  the  State  for  at  least  1 00,000 
colonies. 

CHAPTER  VII 

Valleys,  River  Systems,  Cities,  Towns,  and  Agricultural  Communities 

The  river  systems  of  the  arid  region  largely  determine  the  geography  of  the 
agricultural  sections.  Along  the  rivers  the  pioneer  farmers  first  settled  and  diverted  the 
waters  for  irrigation,  following  the  lines,  successively,  of  least  resistance.  In  time,  most 
of  the  land  capable  of  reclamation  by  local  capital  and  enterprise  was  put  under  cultivation. 
Now  has  begun  the  era  of  Government  and  Carey  Act  reclamation  projects,  the  breaking 
up  of  large  ranches  into  small  farms,  and  the  beginning  of  intensive  farming. 


P 


THE  HUMBOLDT  RIVER  SYSTEM 

The  Humboldt  River  from  the  source  of  its  longest  tributary  to  the  sink  where  its 
waters  are  lost  by  evaporation,  is  nearly  1 ,000  miles  in  length.  Its  drainage  area  covers 
13,800  square  miles.  About  175,000  acres  of  land  along  the  river  and  its  tributaries 
are  under  cultivation.  The  upper  valleys  at  the  source  of  the  river  have  an  elevation 
of  approximately  6,000  feet,  descending  to  about  5,000  feet  at  Elko,  4,500  at  Battle 
Mountain,  4,300  at  Winnemucca  and  4,000  at  Lovelock.  Some  of  the  richest 
farming  districts  of  Nevada  are  along  this  river.  Near  Wells  is  the  Pacific  Reclamation 
Company's  Carey  Act  project  which  is  opening  up  for  settlement  a  30,000-acre 
tract  of  good  land  suitable  for  growing  alfalfa,  grain  and  general  northern  farm  crops. 

41 


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^^Bne  town  of  Metropolis  came  Into  existence  on  this  project.  The  water-supply  is 
^ferived  from  a  storage  system  of  the  flood  waters  of  Bishops  Creek  and  its  tributaries. 

South  of  Wells  is  Clover  Valley,  not  properly  a  part  of  the  Humboldt  River  system, 
however,  but  contiguous  to  it,  about  thirty-five  miles  long  and  from  five  to  ten  miles  wide. 
Although  the  elevation  of  this  valley  is  6,000  feet,  and  the  winters  are  somewhat  severe, 
there  is  a  five  months'  growing  season,  producing  good  crops  of  alfalfa  and  grain.  Some 
splendid  apples  are  grown  here,  and  the  valley  is  worthy  of  attention  from  those 
interested  in  a  climate  producing  an  apple  of  the  longest  keeping  quality.  The  average 
annual  precipitation  is  fifteen  inches. 

About  Deeth  on  the  Humboldt,  and  including  Marys  River  Valley,  Star  Valley 
and  Lamoille  Valley,  is  an  extensive  agricultural  section  containing  about  30,000 
acres  of  alfalfa  and  natural  grass  lands,  and  a  very  much  larger  acreage  which  is 
susceptible  of  reclamation.  It  is  possible  that  extensive  tracts  of  lowlands  in  these 
valleys,  possessing  a  high  water-table — natural  moisture  within  a  short  distance  below 
the  surface — can  be  made  to  grow  the  "dry-farming"  varieties  of  wheat  and  cereals 
without  irrigation.  The  Fort  Halleck  Irrigation  District  recently  organized  under  a 
new  state  law,  is  constructing  an  irrigation  system  to  reclaim  about  10,000  acres  near 
Lamoille  Valley,  at  an  outlay  of  about  $225,000.  Throughout  these  valleys  are  a 
number  of  very  attractive  ranches. 

ELKO,  the  county  seat  of  Elko  County,  is  the  center  of  the  greatest  cattle  and 
sheep  ranges  of  the  State,  and  with  considerable  of  a  farming  section  in  the  immediate 
vicinity.  It  is  a  thriving  town  of  about  2,000  population,  with  the  outlook  for  an 
important  future.  It  lies  on  both  the  Southern  Pacific  and  Western  Pacific  railroads 
and  is  the  business  center  of  a  prosperous  tributary  territory.  From  Elko  north  extends 
a  great  stock-raising,  mining  and  agricultural  country,  clear  to  the  Idaho  line,  the 
importance  of  which  from  the  agricultural  standpoint  is  not  yet  more  than  dimly  realized. 
Here  are  the  valleys  of  the  Owyhee,  Bruneau  and  Salmon  rivers,  whose  waters 
ultimately  reach  the  Columbia  and  the  Pacific.  This  is  a  country,  as  yet,  of  vast  cattle 
ranges  and  far  from  railroad  communication.  It  is  well  watered  and  with  great 
possibilities  for  ultimate  colonization. 

From  Palisade  south  for  fifty  miles  is  a  succession  of  long  narrow  valleys,  through 
which  extends  the  Eureka  &  Palisade  Railway,  the  latter  continuing  on  to  the  famous 
old  mining  camp  of  Eureka,  still  on  the  producing  list  and  once  the  greatest  lead  camp 
of  the  world.  Only  about  5,000  acres  of  land  are  under  cultivation  on  Pine  and  Hot 
creeks  in  these  valleys.     Practically  all  the  farming  is  a  side  issue  to  stock-raising. 

Along  the  Humboldt,  between  Palisade  and  Oreana,  a  distance  of  about  1 60 
miles,  some  50,000  acres  are  under  cultivation,  chiefly  in  natural  grass  meadows  and 
alfalfa.  Much  of  the  soil  is  river-bottom  silt,  susceptible  of  easy  drainage  in  many 
instances,  in  other  cases  not  requiring  any  and  naturally  highly  productive.  Here, 
again,  farming  is  secondary  to  stock-raising,  with  large  ranches  almost  universal.  On 
Spring  Creek,  for  example,  is  a  tract  of  25,000  acres  of  level  arable  sagebrush  land, 
only  a  small  part  of  which  is  under  cultivation  but  practically  all  of  which  is  feasible 
of  reclamation.  This  tract  is  part  of  a  great  stock  range.  In  this  stretch  of  country 
along  the  Humboldt  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  is  room  for  2,000  farm  families  to 
acquire  independence,  where  today  the  land  is  owned  by  perhaps  a  hundred. 

South  from  Beowawe  extends  Crescent  Valley,  nearly  forty  miles  in  length  by  ten 
miles  in  width.  In  many  places  there  is  a  high  water-table,  suggestive  of  possibilities 
for  so-called  *'dry-farming,"  where  the  subsurface  moisture  supplies  most  of  that 
required  for  crops.  The  land  is  level  and  arable.  The  possibilities  for  artesian  water 
in  this  valley  are  excellent. 

At  Battle  Mountain  is  the  confluence  of  the  Reese  River  with  the  Humboldt,  but  only 
in  seasons  of  high  water  do  the  streams  mingle.  It  is  the  Humboldt's  longest  tributary, 
rises  1  20  miles  south,  and  flows  through  a  series  of  narrow  fertile  valleys,  along  which 
for  the  most  part  is  the  Nevada  Central  Railroad,  terminating  at  Austin.  About 
15,000  acres  are  under  cultivation  throughout  the  entire  river  system.  Stock-raising 
predominates  over  farming,  although  there  are  a  number  of  highly  cultivated  farms. 

45 


K    AUSTIN,  the  county  seat  of  Lander  County,  is  the  principal  town  of  the  Reese 
iver  Valley.     Thirty  years  ago  it  was  one  of  Nevada's  great  mining  camps.     After  a 
long  period  of  quiescence  it  is  entering  upon  a  revival  of  its  former  mineral  production. 

WINNEMUCCA,  the  county  seat  of  Humboldt  County,  like  Elko,  is  the  center  of  a 
great  stock-raising,  mining  and  agricultural  territory;  is  on  both  the  Southern  Pacific 
and  Western  Pacific  railroads,  and  is  geographically  situated  to  grow.  The  attractive 
portion  of  the  town  is  not  visible  from  the  railroad.  Its  population  is  about  2,000. 
It  contains  many  pleasant  residences,  good  schools,  churches,  a  national  bank,  business 
houses  and  a  handsome  theatre.  From  Winnemucca  is  shipped  annually  about  3,500,000 
pounds  of  wool  and  about  1 ,600  carloads  of  cattle,  sheep  and  horses. 

Extending  north  from  Winnemucca  for  fifty  miles  on  the  Little  Humboldt  River 
is  Paradise  Valley,  the  upper  end  of  which  is  an  extremely  fertile  farming  country. 
A  town  of  the  same  name  is  situated  in  the  center  of  the  cultivated  section.  It  contains 
a  flour-mill,  stores,  hotels,  and  two  churches.  About  30,000  acres  are  under  a  thrifty 
state  of  cultivation.  The  principal  crops  are  alfalfa,  wheat,  barley,  fruit  and  vegetables. 
Several  fine  orchards  are  in  the  valley  and  the  conditions  seem  favorable  for  fruit- 
growing. A  more  perfect  conservation  of  the  water-supply  would  bring  under  cultivation 
a  much  larger  area  of  arable  land. 

Northwest  from  Paradise  Valley  over  a  mountain  range  lies  the  Quinn  River 
Valley  and  west  of  this.  Kings  River  Valley.  While  neither  of  these  two  valleys 
belongs  to  the  Humboldt  River  system,  they  are  contiguous  to  it  and  will  be  mentioned 
here.  There  are  a  number  of  cultivated  farms.  Stock-raising  is  the  principal  industry. 
Here  are  vast  stretches  of  arable  desert  land,  naturally  well  watered  and  capable  of 
reclamation  to  support  a  considerable  farming  population. 

The  Ellison  Ranch  Company  is  completing  a  Carey  Act  project  to  reclaim  and  open 
for  settlement  38,000  acres  of  rich  lands  on  the  Quinn  River  and  its  tributaries. 

LOVELOCK,  the  last  town  on  the  Humboldt,  is  the  center  of  perhaps  the  richest 
agricultural  section  in  northern  Nevada.  The  soil  is  the  accumulated  silt  of  ages  of 
river  flow  finally  deposited  in  this  lower  extremity  of  the  great  Humboldt  Valley. 
Wells  sunk  fifty  feet  and  over  do  not  pass  through  the  black  humus-laden  soil.  Here 
yields  of  seven  tons  to  the  acre  of  alfalfa  and  sixty  bushels  of  wheat  excite  no  comment. 
About  25,000  acres  are  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  the  principal  crops  being 
alfalfa,  potatoes,  wheat,  barley,  and  oats.  Here  is  located  an  important  flour-mill. 
This  valley  should  make  a  wonderful  spot  for  the  growing  of  sugar-beets,  and  undoubtedly 
a  considerable  acreage  will  be  planted  from  now  on  as  it  is  within  shipping  distance  of 
the  sugar-beet  factory  at  Fallon.  Crops  such  as  celery,  asparagus,  corn,  sorghum, 
tomatoes,  etc.,  grow  luxuriantly.  Land  here,  as  in  many  other  places,  is  held  in  large 
tracts,  but  already  the  demand  for  small  acreages  of  such  rich  soil  is  insistent.  Its 
colonization  with  the  intensive  farmer  on  twenty  and  forty-acre  tracts  is  likely  in  a  few 
years  to  occur.  Near  here  is  the  Carey  Act  project  of  the  Lovelock  Land  and 
Development  Company,  which  is  constructing  an  irrigation  system  to  impound  57,000 
acre  feet  of  the  flood  waters  of  the  river  in  a  reservoir  site  near  the  Humboldt  House 
to  irrigate  certain  lands  held  in  private  ownership  and  to  reclaim  10,000  acres  of 
desert  land.  The  latter  on  the  completion  of  the  project  will  be  thrown  open  to 
entrymen. 

TRUCKEE  RIVER  SYSTEM 

Lake  Tahoe,  lying  partly  in  California  and  partly  in  Nevada,  pronounced  by 
tourists  as  the  most  beautiful  lake  in  the  world,  is  the  source  of  the  Truckee  River. 
After  flowing  about  1 25  miles,  during  which  it  falls  2,442  feet,  it  empties  into  Pyramid 
Lake,  the  latter  also  a  surpassingly  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  somewhat  larger  than 
Lake  Tahoe.  The  scenery  along  the  Truckee  is  superb.  The  Eastern  traveler  on  the 
Southern  Pacific,  entering  the  Truckee  Valley,  seven  miles  below  Reno,  gets  his  first 
and  only  view  from  the  car  window  of  what  might  be  called  "Agricultural  Nevada." 
Even  here  it  is  only  the  natural  grass  lowlands  or  "meadows**  that  are  within  the  range 
of  vision.  Nevertheless  the  view  of  this  beautiful  valley,  walled  in  by  the  great  Sierras 
on  the  west,  is  inspiring. 

47 


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About  45,000  acres  are  cultivated  from  the  Truckee  River,  not  including  the 
lands  reclaimed  by  the  Truckee-Carson  Reclamation  Project  lower  down.  The  stream 
is  harnessed  at  a  number  of  places  with  hydro-electric  plants,  generating  energy  to  light 
and  supply  power  for  domestic,  industrial  and  mining  purposes  from  Reno  to  as  far 
south  as  Yerington  and  Wabuska,  including  Virginia  City  and  the  great  mines  of  the 
Comstock  Lode. 

Surrounding  Reno  is  a  rich  agricultural  section  with  medium-sized  farms  under  a 
compartively  high  state  of  cultivation.  The  principal  products  are  alfalfa,  potatoes, 
and  onions  with  other  more  or  less  diversified  crops. 

RENO,  the  county  seat  of  Washoe  County,  and  the  most  important  city  in  the  State, 
is  located  on  both  banks  of  the  Truckee.  Its  population  in  1910  was  10,867.  Three 
miles  distant  and  connected  by  electric  street-car  system  is  the  town  of  Sparks,  population 
2,500.  Reno  is  a  live,  progressive  Western  city,  and  its  busy  thoroughfares  thronged 
with  people,  with  clanging  street-cars  and  innumerable  automobiles,  give  the  visitor  the 
impression  that  this  is  a  place  of  no  mean  importance,  and  he  is  not  in  error.  Its 
location  so  far  as  scenic  environment  is  concerned  is  not  surpassed  even  by  Colorado 
Springs.  Its  position  as  a  business  center  with  railroads  radiating  north,  east,  south 
and  west  gives  it  an  enormous  tributary  territory.  Here  are  modern  business  blocks, 
department  stores,  excellent  hotels,  fine  public  buildings,  schools,  churches,  libraries,  and 
a  modern  theatre  where  the  stars  of  the  first  magnitude  appear,  and  Schumann-Heink 
and  Gadski  have  sung.  It  is  a  city  also  of  beautiful  residences,  trees  and  shrubbery, 
asphalt  and  macadam  streets.  There  are  churches  of  all  denominations,  and  a  splendid 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  building;  also  four  large  banking  institutions  with  combined  resources 
aggregating  $10,000,000..  Here  are  located  the  Nevada  State  University  and 
Experiment  Station.  The  University  is  richly  endowed  by  the  state  and  federal 
governments  and  by  Mrs.  John  Mackay  and  Clarence  Mackay,  of  New  York,  widow 
and  son  respectively  of  the  late  master  spirit  during  the  bonanza  days  of  the  Comstock 
Lode.  There  is  an  able  corps  of  instructors,  and  350  students.  The  Reno  Commercial 
Club  is  an  organization  of  leading  business  men  and  citizens,  with  extensive  club  head- 
quarters and  will  reply  to  inquiries  with  respect  to  the  city  and  surrounding  country. 

The  average  annual  run-off  of  the  Truckee  River  is  674,000  acre  feet,  or  sufficient 
water  if  conserved  to  irrigate  225,000  acres  of  land.  Immediately  north  of  Reno 
are  several  arable  valleys  capable  of  reclamation  from  the  river,  containing  73,000 
acres  now  in  sagebrush.  The  "meadow"  lands  on  the  east  side  of  the  Truckee  Valley, 
containing  about  5,000  acres,  could  be  drained  by  deepening  the  river  channel  near 
Vista  about  six  feet,  thus  reclaiming  from  swamp  a  body  of  wonderfully  fertile  bottom- 
lands. South  of  the  Truckee  Valley  lies  Steamboat  Valley,  also  highly  cultivated 
and  beyond  this  is  a  succession  of  farm  valleys  for  fifty  miles,  through  which  runs  the 
Virginia  &  Truckee  Railroad  and  its  Minden  branch. 

THE  CARSON  RIVER  SYSTEM 
Like  the  Truckee,  the  Carson  River  rises  in  the  Sierras  and  flows  northeasterly 
about  200  miles,  to  empty  in  the  Carson  Sink.  Its  estimated  annual  run-off  is  436,000 
acre  feet,  or  sufficient  to  irrigate  if  conserved  145,000  acres.  Carson  Valley,  situated 
on  the  upper  Carson,  elevation  4,750  feet,  is  second  to  no  other  valley  in  Nevada  in 
soil  fertility  and  grandeur  of  natural  scenery.  On  its  west  side  the  picturesque  Sierras 
rise  abruptly  and  afford  a  mountain  perspective  over  the  verdure  of  the  fields  and  thrifty 
farms  to  satisfy  the  most  ardent  Nature  lover.  Five  to  seven  tons  of  alfalfa  and  forty 
bushels  of  wheat  are  ordinary  crops.  The  largest  dairy  industry  in  the  State  centers  here,  the 
farmers  owning  the  Gardnerville  Creamery  co-operatively,  and  they  have  grown  wealthy 
from  turning  their  forage  crops  into  butter  and  cheese.  Here  is  also  a  large  flour-mill, 
second  only  to  the  Riverside  flour-mill  at  Reno  in  importance.  A  large  land  estate  in 
this  valley  is  being  subdivided  into  small  farms,  and  many  new  colonists  have  in  the 
last  few  years  acquired  homes.  Land  so  productive  is  valuable.  The  settler  will  get 
exceptional  value  in  fruitful  soil,  but  he  must  expect  to  pay  anywhere  from  $150  to 
$300  an  acre  for  improved  land. 

49 


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II  There  are  four  thriving  towns  in  the  valley — Minden,  Gardnerville,  Genoa  and 
heridan — surrounded  by  30,000  acres  of  land  under  the  highest  state  of  cultivation — with 
an  additional  13,000  acres  of  arable  lands  at  the  north  end  of  the  valley  which  are 
rapidly  being  reclaimed. 

Along  the  Carson  River,  between  Empire  and  the  Truckee-Carson  project  at  Fallon, 
including  the  farm  acreage  about  Dayton,  about  20,000  acres  are  under  cultivation, 
producing  alfalfa  and  potatoes  as  the  leading  crops. 

Immediately  north  of  Carson  Valley  lies  Eagle  Valley,  containing  12,000  acres  of 
arable  lands,  about  a  third  of  which  is  under  cultivation,  due  to  scarcity  of  water-supply 
but  which  will  in  time  be  remedied  by  pumping  and  storage  systems.  The  Carson  River 
traverses  the  lower  side  of  this  valley,  consequently  its  waters  cannot  be  utilized. 

CARSON  CITY,  the  capital  of  the  State,  is  situated  in  the  center  of  Eagle  Valley, 
only  fourteen  miles  from  Lake  Tahoe.  The  population  is  about  2,500.  In  addition 
to  the  State  buildings  located  here,  there  is  a  line  federal  building.  The  city  is  charming 
from  its  picturesque  setting  and  wealth  of  magnificent  trees  which  line  all  the  streets. 
It  is  expected  that  during  the  coming  year  several  thousand  acres  of  rich  silt  lands  close 
in  to  Carson  City  will  be  opened  to  colonization. 

TRUCKEE-CARSON  RECLAMATION  PROJECT 

The  first  reclamation  project  undertaken  by  the  Government  under  the  National 
Reclamation  Act  was  begun  in  1903  in  Nevada  and  is  still  in  process  of  construction 
at  an  ultimate  cost  of  approximately  $7,000,000.  The  first  unit  of  the  project  was 
completed  in  1907-08,  consisting  of  a  great  canal  to  divert  the  waters  of  the  Truckee 
at  Derby,  twenty  miles  below  Reno,  to  the  vast  tract  of  arable  land  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Fallon  in  Churchill  County.  Work  on  the  second  unit  of  the  project  was  inaugurated 
the  present  year,  1911,  namely,  the  construction  of  an  impounding  dam  across  the 
Carson  River  about  fifteen  miles  from  Fallon  to  store  the  waters  of  the  canal  and  the 
flood  waters  of  the  Carson  during  the  non-irrigation  season  in  a  great  artificial  lake, 
capacity  350,000  acre  feet.  The  dam  will  be  of  earth  and  concrete,  800  feet  long, 
1  1 0  feet  high,  400  feet  wide  at  the  base  and  20  feet  wide  at  the  top.  It  will  be 
completed  in  1913,  and  with  the  existing  appropriated  water-supply  of  the  river  and 
canal  system  will  be  the  means  of  reclaiming  a  total  of  200,000  acres  of  what  was 
once  known  as  the  "Forty  Mile  Desert,"  about  70,000  acres  of  which  are  now  under 
cultivation.     The  dam  will  supply  many  thousand  hydro-electric  horsepower  as  well. 

FALLON,  the  county  seat  of  Churchill  County,  is  situated  at  the  terminus  of  a  short 
spur  of  the  Southern  Pacific  beginning  at  Hazen ;  population  about  1 ,000,  not  including 
those  on  the  immediately  surrounding  farms;  elevation,  3,970  feet;  maximum  temperature 
105  degrees,  minimum  5  degrees,  mean  48  degrees,  humidity  low. 

The  soil  about  Fallon  is  of  many  kinds,  as  would  be  expected  in  a  large  tract  of 
land  formed  from  river  and  lake  deposits,  including  light  drifting  sands,  loams,  clay, 
adobe  and  black  peat  soils,  all  occurring  in  large  quantities  and  affording  an  extensive 
variety  for  choice.  A  wide  range  of  crops  are  grown  here:  alfalfa,  wild  hay,  corn, 
grain,  sorghum,  potatoes,  sugar-beets,  celery,  asparagus,  melons,  orchard  fruits,  berries,  etc. 
This  country  is  at  its  beginning,  with  an  outlook  such  that  ten  years  from  now 
should  see  its  fruition  as  one  of  the  greatest  agricultural  sections  of  the  West.  Here  is 
located  a  new  sugar-beet  factory  with  a  capacity  of  650  tons  per  day  and  which  will 
give  market  for  a  crop  that  will  net  the  skilful  grower  from  $50  to  $75  per  acre.  One 
after  the  other  the  older  farms  are  being  broken  up  and  sold  to  setUers  in  smaller  tracts. 
Also  the  vast  acreage  being  reclaimed  by  the  Government  is  open  to  homestead  entry 
at  a  cost  of  $30  per  acre,  payable  in  ten  instalments  without  interest,  and  sixty  cents  per 
annum  maintenance  cost. 

Northwest  of  Fallon,  at  Fernley,  on  the  line  of  the  Truckee  Canal,  a  fine  tract 
of  land  is  being  reclaimed  by  homesteaders.  This  is  on  "thornbrush'*  land  deficient 
in  humus  and  nitrogen  but  which  is  artificially  supplied,  with  the  result  that  splendid 
yields  of  alfalfa  in  every  instance  have  rewarded  the  settlers.  For  information  address, 
Project  Engineer,  U.  S.  R.  S.,  Fallon,  Nev. 

53 


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THE  WALKER  RIVER  SYSTEM 

The  Walker  River  is  formed  by  two  branches — East  and  West  forks — which  rise 
on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierras.  The  latter  traverses  Antelope  and  Smith  valleys 
and  unites  with  the  West  Fork  in  Mason  Valley,  thence  flowing  into  Walker  Lake. 
In  Antelope  Valley  is  a  natural  reservoir  site  capable  of  impounding — depending  on 
the  height  of  the  dam — from  105,000  to  240,000  acre  feet  of  the  flood  waters  of 
the  stream.  There  are  also  several  storage  sites  on  the  East  Fork.  On  both  rivers 
are  a  number  of  power  sites.  For  a  reclamation  company  possessing  the  necessary 
capital  to  quiet  certain  conflicting  water  rights  and  put  in  the  storage  and  canal  systems 
requiring  about  $1,000,000,  there  is  no  more  profitable  and  feasible  undertaking  in 
the  West  than  the  consummation  of  what  is  known  as  the  Antelope  Valley  Project 
which  is  still  open.  The  acreage  subject  to  reclamation  by  this  project  is  estimated 
at  80,000,  including  lands  now  in  private  ownership  but  with  an  uncertain  water-supply 
due  to  the  variation  in  the  river  flow.  The  annual  run-ofl^  of  the  East  Fork  is  154,000 
acre  feet  and  of  the  West  Fork  222,000  acre  feet,  a  total  sufficient  to  reclaim  135,000 
acres,  aside  from  the  lands  which,  under  the  topography  of  the  valleys,  are  reclaimed 
by  seepage,  aggregating  probably  50,000  acres  more.  Elevations:  Smith  Valley, 
4,800  feet;  Mason  Valley,  4,350  feet.     Climate  mild. 

The  present  acreage  under  cultivation  in  these  two  valleys,  including  East  Fork 
Valley  which  is  a  continuation  of  Mason,  is  about  75,000.  In  Smith  Valley  artesian 
water  is  demonstrated  at  depths  ranging  from  100  to  300  feet,  with  strong  flows,  and 
there  is  much  activity  at  present  in  artesian  reclamation.  Electric  power  is  available 
for  pumping  in  both  valleys,  and  in  many  places  surface-waters  in  abundance  can  be 
obtained  under  twenty  feet  pumping  lift.  The  Nevada  &  California  Railway,  a 
branch  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  beginning  at  Hazen  and  now  being  extended  to  connect 
with  Los  Angeles,  passes  through  Mason  Valley  at  Wabuska,  from  which  the  Nevada 
Copper  Belt  Railway  extends  through  a  portion  of  Mason  Valley  and  into  Smith 
Valley,  terminating  at  Hudson.  At  Wabuska  is  located  a  copper  smelter  to  reduce 
the  great  bodies  of  copper  ores  in  the  vicinity  of  Yerington. 

The  Carey  Act  project  of  the  Walker  River  Power  Company  proposes  to  impound 
the  flood  waters  of  the  East  Fork  and  to  carry  the  stream  by  a  high-line  canal  to  reclaim 
50,000  acres  of  fine  sagebrush  lands  in  Mason  Valley,  as  well  to  generate  ultimately 
about  30,000  hydro-electric  horsepower.  This  project  is  well  under  way  and  will 
probably  be  largely  colonized  by  Mennonite  farmers  from  Pennsylvania. 

From  an  agricultural  standpoint  Smith  and  Mason  valleys  are  two  of  the  most 
fertile  areas  in  Nevada  and  capable  of  supporting  a  very  large  farming  population. 
About  the  same  variety  of  farm  crops  thrive  here  as  at  Fallon  and  in  Carson  Valley. 
There  are  splendid  local  markets.  The  country  is  also  tributary  to  the  rich  mining 
districts  of  Tonopah,  Goldfield,  etc.  For  the  intending  settler  these  two  valleys  off^er 
special  opportunities  at  the  present  time.  The  principal  towns  are  Mason,  Yerington, 
Wabuska,  Nordyke,  and  Wellington. 

SMALL  STREAM  SYSTEMS:  NORTHERN  NEVADA 

Aside  from  the  river  systems  mentioned  there  are  in  the  State  innumerable  cultivated 
tracts  varying  from  a  quarter-section  to  several  thousand  acres  reclaimed  from  the  flow 
of  springs  and  mountain  creeks.  The  total  irrigated  area  of  this  character,  owing  to 
the  immensity  of  the  State,  is  not  likely  less  than  1 00,000  acres.  Wherever  there 
is  a  brook  or  spring  in  nearly  every  case  will  be  found  some  occupant  of  the  land. 

The  White  River,  so-called  in  east-central  Nevada,  length  about  seventy-five  miles, 
flows  about  28,000  acre  feet  of  water  per  annum.  It  is  fed  from  four  great  thermal  springs 
at  Preston  and  Lund.  The  White  River  Valley  contains  a  large  acreage  of  arable 
lands,  only  about  5,000  of  which  are  cultivated.  Owing  to  the  limited  water-supply, 
about  9,000  acres  would  represent  the  maximum  that  is  feasible  of  reclamation  by 
storage. 

Steptoe  Valley,  in  White  Pine  County,  is  about  100  miles  in  length  and  from 
six  to  twelve  miles  in  width,  elevation  6,000  feet.     It  is  traversed  by  Duck  Creek  flowing 

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from  the  north  and  Steptoe  Creek  from  the  south.  Along  these  creeks  are  extensive 
tracts  of  natural  meadows.  Fruit,  alfalfa  and  grain  are  profitable  crops.  Contiguous 
to  this  valley  are  the  great  copper  mines  at  Ely,  rivaling  those  of  Butte,  Montana, 
as  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  which  afford  market  for  everything  grown.  The  water- 
supply  of  both  creeks  has  been  purchased  by  the  copper  companies,  which  limits  the 
acreage  subject  to  future  reclamation.  East  of  Ely  is  Spring  Valley,  and  about  Osceola 
are  several  great  ranches  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  TThe  annual  precipitation 
in  this  section  is  about  twelve  inches. 

In  Lincoln  County  are  a  series  of  valleys — Duck  Valley,  Desert  Valley,  Pahroc 
Valley,  Coal  Valley  and  Pennoyer  Valley — which  may  be  said  to  be  on  the  border  line 
between  northern  and  southern  Nevada.  There  are  many  thousand  acres  of  cultivated 
lands  in  these  valleys  in  isolated  tracts,  reclaimed  from  springs  and  mountain  creeks.  In 
Coal  Valley  a  private  company  has  constructed  an  impounding  dam  to  store  the  flood 
waters  of  a  number  of  small  streams.  The  run-off  of  the  creeks  would  seem  to  limit 
the  area  feasible  of  reclamation  by  the  surface-water  supply  alone  to  about  5,000  acres. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  Meadow  Valley  Wash,  about  Caliente  and  Panaca, 
on  the  San  Pedro,  Los  Angeles  &  Salt  Lake  Railway,  elevation  approximately  4,400 
feet,  is  an  extremely  fertile  farm  country  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  The 
growing  season  is  about  seven  months,  and  extraordinary  yields  are  obtained  on  the 
irrigated  lands.  There  is  room  on  small  tracts  in  this  section  for  a  considerable  number 
of  farmers. 

About  Hawthorne,  in  the  Walker  Lake  Valley,  west-central  Nevada,  are  some 
cultivated  lands  and  with  many  thousands  of  acres  additional  of  arable  lands  which 
will  probably  ultimately  be  reclaimed  by  pumping.  In  Fish  Lake  Valley  are  several 
thousand  acres  of  highly  productive  cultivated  lands. 

Big  Smoky  Valley,  one  hundred  miles  in  length  by  from  five  to  fifteen  miles  in 
width,  with  250,000  acres  of  arable  lands,  only  about  1,500  acres  of  which  are  under 
cultivation  from  springs  and  mountain  streams,  is  alluring  of  possibilities  of  reclamation 
in  part  by  artesian  irrigation.  Pumping  wells  have  been  encountered  at  reasonable  depths 
at  Millers.  Electric  power  for  pumping  is  available,  and  1  15,000  acres  of  the  lands 
are  now  covered  by  Carey  Act  projects  proposing  to  ultilize  the  subterranean  waters. 
Ralston  Valley,  Hot  Creek  Valley,  Fish  Spring  Valley,  Little  Smoky  Valley,  and 
Paranagat  Valley  each  contains  an  enormous  acreage  of  arable  desert  lands,  some  little 
of  which  is  under  cultivation  and  the  remainder  awaiting  some  feasible  means  of 
reclamation,  restricted,  however,  probably  to  artesian  flows. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  these  valleys  are  the  great  mining  districts  of  Tonopah, 
Goldfield  and  Manhattan,  producing  annually  approximately  $20,000,000  in  precious 
metals,  affording  markets  for  agricultural  crops  and,  as  well,  the  railroads  and  electric 
power  lines  leading  to  them  the  means  of  transportation  and  power. 

in  SOUTHERN  SUB-TROPICAL  NEVADA 

We  have  now  to  consider  a  portion  of  Nevada  lying  between  the  thirty-fifth  and 
thirty-seventh  parallels,  elevation  between  1 ,600  and  2,000  feet,  with  a  maximum  tem- 
perature of  I  16  degrees,  mean  61.7  degrees,  and  lowest  recorded  10  degrees  Fahrenheit, 
where  frosts  are  practically  unknown  between  the  first  of  May  and  the  beginning  of 
November,  and  where  the  growing  season  is  nine  months  long.  This  section  includes  the 
Muddy  River  Valley,  Las  Vegas  Valley,  Pahrump  Valley,  Indian  Spring  Valley,  and 
tracts  m  the  Amargosa  Desert,  all  of  which  are  tributary  to  the  San  Pedro,  Los  Angeles 
&  Salt  Lake  Railway,  the  Las  Vegas  &  Tonopah  Railway  and  a  part  of  the  Tonopah  & 
Tidewater  Railway.  w^-artr 

THE  MUDDY  RIVER  SYSTEM  ^^"^^^ 

Fhe  Muddy  River  rises  in  certain  thermal  springs  near  Arrow  Canon,  In  the 
Arrow  Cafion  Mountains,  flows  southeasterly,  enters  the  Meadow  Valley  Wash  and 
continues  to  Saint  Thomas,  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  where  it  empties  into  the  Virgin 
River   about   twenty-five   miles   above   its   confluence   with   the   Colorado.      The   normal 

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annual  flow  of  the  river  is  about  28,000  acre  feet.  There  are  about  1 2,000  acres 
of  arable  lands  along  the  Muddy,  of  which  about  5,000  are  under  cultivation.  This 
valley  is  an  agricultural  pardise  in  respect  to  fertility.  Six  crops  of  alfalfa  are  harvested; 
cotton  grows  luxuriantly;  cantaloupes  and  watermelons  return  small  fortunes  from  a  few 
acres;  it  is  a  natural  home  for  the  fig,  olive,  grape  and  apricot,  and  here  is  grown 
perhaps  the  finest  asparagus  raised  in  America.  The  State  of  Nevada  maintains  an 
experiment  station  here.  Five  hundred  carloads  of  melons,  lettuce,  asparagus  and  fruit, 
on  the  completion  of  the  railroad  from  Moapa  to  Saint  Thomas,  it  is  estimated,  will  be 
shipped  to  Eastern  markets  next  season  and  thereafter.  Two  crops  are  ordinarily 
harvested  from  the  same  land  each  year.  In  this  valley  are  four  prosperous  towns, 
Moapa,  Logan,  Overton  and  Saint  Thomas.  Considering  the  value  of  the  crops,  land 
can  yet  be  secured  at  reasonable  prices.  The  scarcity  of  the  water-supply  has  hitherto 
limited  the  cultivated  acreage,  but  artesian  irrigation  to  reclaim  the  remainder  of  the 
arable  lands  is  believed  to  be  feasible.  This  little  valley  is  capable  of  supporting  500 
families  on  twenty-acre  tracts,  with  an  adequate  water-supply.  For  additional  information, 
address  Moapa  Valley  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Logan,  Nevada. 


1 


THE  LAS  VEGAS  VALLEY 

About  sixty  miles  southwest  of  Moapa  on  the  railroad  is  Las  Vegas,  situated  in 
what  was  once  believed  to  be  an  inhospitable  desert — aside  from  the  Vegas  spring  in 
the  center  of  the  valley  and  the  spots  made  fertile  by  the  flow  of  mountain  creeks  along 
the  base  of  the  surrounding  hills.  Today  this  desert  is  being  transformed  into  a 
wonderfully  fertile  oasis;  slowly  perhaps,  relative  to  its  great  extent,  but  the  encroachment 
of  the  farms  upon  the  desert  has  now  reached  several  thousand  acres  and  is  rapidly 
increasing.  In  1906  the  first  artesian  well  was  drilled,  developing  a  strong  flow  of 
subterranean  water  under  300  feet  depth.  It  was  several  years  before  the  full  importance 
of  the  discovery  began  to  attract  the  attention  it  deserved.  About  two  years  ago  artesian 
well  drilling  began  in  earnest,  with  the  result  that  a  large  number  of  wells  are  now  flowing 
and  drill  machines  are  constantly  at  work  developing  new  flows.  Not  all  the  soil  of  the 
valley  is  arable,  owing  to  the  presence  in  places  of  hardpan  or  a  stratum  of  gypsum 
close  to  the  surface  and  in  other  places  alkali,  but  aside  from  these  there  are  extensive 
tracts  of  good  soil  made  especially  valuable  by  reason  of  the  climatic  conditions.  Even 
on  much  of  this  thin  soil  with  suitable  treatment  crops  of  all  the  shallow-rooted  varieties 
will  produce  abundant  harvests.  The  range  of  crops  is  about  the  same  as  at  Moapa, 
and  on  the  best  lands  enormous  yields  of  grapes,  cantaloupes,  watermelons,  lettuce,  fruit, 
large  and  small,  are  grown.  There  is  room  about  Las  Vegas  for  a  large  farm  population, 
and  here  twenty  to  forty  acres  of  average  soil  with  a  flowing  well  spells  opulence. 
The  Carey  Act  project  of  the  Las  Vegas  Irrigated  Fruit  Lands  Company  in  drilling 
wells  to  open  up  an  8,000-acre  tract  for  colonization. 

LAS  VEGAS  is  a  thriving  town  of  1,500  population,  with  attractive  business 
buildings  and  charming  residences,  oiled  streets,  schools,  churches,  banks,  and  an 
atmosphere  of  enterprise  and  prosperity  in  keeping  with  its  outlook  as  ultimately  the 
distributing  center  for  one  of  the  largest  and  richest  agricultural  sections  of  the  State. 
The  Las  Vegas  Chamber  of  Commerce  will  supply  any  information  on  request. 

THE  PAHRUMP  VALLEY 
West  of  Las  Vegas,  across  the  Charleston  Range  which  is  well  timbered  and 
contains  many  beautiful  mountain  parks,  lies  Pahrump  Valley  with  about  75,000  acres 
of  arable  land.  The  elevation  at  Manse  is  2,775  feet.  At  Manse  and  at  Pahrump, 
about  seven  miles  apart,  are  two  great  springs  which  supply  water  for  the  irrigation  of 
about  1 ,000  acres,  transforming  the  desert  into  an  oasis  of  subtropical  vegetation. 
The  range  of  crops  is  about  the  same  as  at  Las  Vegas  and  Moapa.  In  this  valley 
is  an  empire  of  the  most  fertile  character,  provided  that  artesian  water  can  be  found 
as  abundantly  as  at  Las  Vegas.  The  Pahrump  Valley  Land  &  Water  Company,  a 
Carey  Act  project,  is  actively  engaged  in  drilling  to  determine  if  subterranean  waters 
exist  to  reclaim  a  tract  of  15,740  acres.  If  this  exploration  proves  successful,  in  a 
few  years  will  be  opened  up  for  entrymen  a  country  second  to  none  in  the  Southwest 

61 


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for  subtropical  fertility.  While  as  yet  the  valley  is  without  railroad  communication, 
both  Pahrump  and  Manse  are  within  thirty  miles  of  the  Tonopah  &  Las  Vegas 
Railway  and  a  less  distance  to  the  Tonopah  &  Tidewater  Railway.  The  agricultural 
development  of  the  valley  will  in  time  insure  a  branch  line  from  one  or  both. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Agricultural  Development  Stimulated  by  the  Mining  Industry 

We  have  previously  referred  to  the  exceptional  local  markets  for  agricultural  crops 
Nevada  due  to  the  excess  proportion  of  the  population  engaged  in  mining  and  other 
non-agricultural  pursuits.  The  mining  industry  in  the  State  since  the  culmination  of 
the  great  mining  boom,  beginning  in  1901  and  ending  in  1907,  is  not  on  the  wane,  as 
many  not  familiar  with  the  progress  of  the  industry  since  the  latter  year  may  suppose. 
Legitimate  mining — the  exploitation  of  the  State's  wonderful  deposits  of  mineral  wealth — 
has  made  greater  strides  during  the  years  since  the  so-called  "boom"  collapsed  than 
ever  before.  A  comparison  of  the  mineral  output  at  present  with  the  preceding  sensational 
period  will  show  that  the  annual  production  of  gold,  silver  and  copper  has  increased 
from  $21,500,000  in  1907  to  approximately  $40,000,000  for  the  year  1911.  The 
mines  are  being  exploited  and  not  the  public,  which  accounts  for  the  enormous  increase 
in  mineral  production.  The  former  great  mining  discoveries  are  now  thoroughly  equipped 
with  modern  hoisting  and  reduction  works.  The  older  mining  camps,  such  as  the 
Comstock  Lode,  Austin,  Pioche,  etc.,  due  to  advanced  metallurgical  processes  and  the 
introduction  of  hydro-electric  power,  are  taking  on  new  leases  of  life.  Also  new 
discoveries  of  great  importance  not  widely  heralded  are  becoming  substantial  producers. 
The  copper  mines  at  Ely  are  now  practically  the  first  in  importance  in  the  world. 
At  Yerington  are  great  copper  mines  which,  after  ten  years  of  development,  the  latter 
part  of  this  year  will  begin  turning  out  copper  ingots  from  the  new  smelter  at  Wabuska. 

The  opening  up  of  great  ore  bodies  in  new  regions  and  at  greater  depths  at  Tonopah 
have  advanced  the  production  of  that  district  enormously  and  extended  the  probable  life 
of  the  camp  indefinitely.  Goldfield  continues  its  unexampled  production  with  no 
indications  of  probable  abatement  for  a  decade  at  least. 

To  supply  the  hundreds  of  mining  camps  and  discoveries,  great  and  small,  the 
Nevada  farmer  finds  a  constant  market  for  many  kinds  of  crops  and  at  a  range  of 
prices  higher  than  obtained  elsewhere  in  America. 


INFORMATION 

For  further  or  special  information  regarding  the  State  of  Nevada,  address 
Nevada  Bureau  of  Industry,  Agriculture  and  Irrigation,  Carson  City,  Nevada. 
Any  representative  of  the  Traffic  Departments  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  Western 
Pacific,  or  San  Pedro,  Los  Angeles  &  Salt  Lake  railroads  throughout  the  country 
will  be  pleased  on  application  to  answer  inquiries  about  the  State,  including 
railway  rates  and  service. 


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